Managing treatment failure in pleural infection

Pleural infection is a common condition associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and prolonged hospital stay. Whilst antibiotics and chest tube drainage comprise initial management, over one-third of patients experience medical treatment failure, necessitating intrapleural enzyme therapy (IET) or surgery. This review examines advances in diagnosis and management of treatment failure in pleural infection.

A literature search of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library (January 2005- April 2025) was performed using keywords related to pleural infection, diagnostics, biomarkers, and treatment interventions. Treatment failure emerged as a multifactorial process involving delayed presentation, structural and physiological barriers such as increased pleural fluid viscosity, septation formation, pleural thickening, and biofilm development, alongside host factors and microbiological complexity. We review current strategies including antibiotics, chest tube drainage, IET (tPA + DNase), and surgical options, alongside emerging modalities such as next-generation sequencing, pleural biopsy, medical thoracoscopy, saline irrigation, and indwelling catheters.

Early identification of treatment failure within 48 hours is crucial for guiding escalation. A precision medicine approach integrating microbiological, radiological, and host-response data may redefine standards of care and improve outcomes. Future priorities include early risk stratification, biomarker-guided therapy, microbiome-informed antibiotic strategies, and improving global access to effective treatments.