Pediatric Empyema in the Post-Pandemic Period: Evaluating Changing Trends in Microbiology, Investigations, Fibrinolysis, and Surgical Outcomes

We present a retrospective analysis of our experience managing pediatric empyema, focusing on clinical, microbiological, radiological aspects, surgical and fibrinolytic outcomes over an 8-year period, encompassing the 2022–2023 United Kingdom invasive group A Streptococcus (iGAS) surge. This observational study aimed to test the hypothesis that the post-pandemic period has revealed a new pattern of microbes, disease patterns, and treatment effectiveness.Case notes of children (