Pleural empyema in children: a nationwide retrospective study.

: Military hospitals across the United States provided data for this study on pediatric patients with pleural empyema. Haemophilus influenzae type b (17%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (14%), and Staphylococcus aureus (11%) were the most common etiologic agents. Male patients predominated, except among blacks. The mortality was high in patients with hospital-acquired empyemas.