2000 Volume 14 Issue 2 Pages 123-127
A 68-year-old male was admitted to a nearby hospital with diabetic nephropathy to undergo chronic hemodialysis. Chest X-ray film and CT on admission demonstrated left pleural effusion, but a definite diagnosis could not be obtained by thoracocentesis and other examinations. The patient noted sudden onset of high fever seven months later, at which time massive pleural effusion was observed in his left thorax. When the chest drainage tube was inserted into the pleural cavity, cryptococci were isolated from purulent fluid. Because the patient's condition was not improved after treatment with fluconazole, decortication and muscle plombage were performed. The postoperative course was uneventful by precise hemodialysis. At present, 9 months after operation, he is alive without recurrence of empyema.
