[Transdiaphragmatic bronchopleural fistulas as complications of subdiaphragmatic abscesses]

The authors had 21 patients with various types of transdiaphragmatic bronchopleural fistulas which development as secondary complications of a subdiaphragmatic abscess as a consequence of late diagnosis, ineffective drainage, and use of transpleural approaches to the abscesses. Clinical and radiological diagnosis including contrast fistulo- and pleurography, bronchography and bronchoscopy, and contrast endoscopic examination of the stomach and other organs made it possible to determine the character and localization of the transdiaphragmatic fistula and the condition of the sprained organs. The therapeutic tactics were determined by the form and causes of the transdiaphragmatic bronchopleural fistulas. Nineteen patients recovered, 2 died. The success of treatment depended on the time when operative drainage was begun and on its rational application on bronchological cleansing, and on other components of complex treatment.