Management of lung abscess complicated by bronchopleural fistula and severe respiratory failure

Abstract

Lung abscessassociated with a bronchopleural fistula is an uncommon clinical condition that presents many management problems. We describe a case of a 42 year old man who presented with a lung abscess that resulted in profound respiratory failure complicated by a bronchopleural fistula and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Following an initially conservative approach to management, definitive surgical treatment was successfully achieved using differential lung ventilation at thoracotomy.