Two cases of lung abscesses successfully treated with percutaneous drainage]

We report two cases of lung abscesses treated with percutaneous drainage. A 69-year-old man with diabetes mellitus was admitted to our hospital because of fever. Chest radiograph and chest CT scan demonstrated a lung abscess adjacent to the chest wall in right S10. Antibiotics did not achieve an adequate response. A drainage catheter was inserted percutaneously. We washed the abscess cavity daily using 1% povidone iodine saline. There was a clear improvement on the chest radiograph. A 74-year-old man with cerebral infarct was admitted to our hospital because of persistent cough and fever. Chest radiograph and chest CT scan demonstrated a lung abscess adjacent to the chest wall in left S10. Antibiotics did not achieve an adequate response. A drainage catheter was inserted percutaneously. We washed the abscess cavity daily using 1% povidone iodine saline. There was a clear improvement on the chest radiograph. We think that percutaneous drainage is a very useful method to treat lung abscesses in which antibiotics do not achieve an adequate response.