• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.484-488
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• 1999

Massive lung gangrene is a rare but very rapidly progressing fatal complication of lobar pneumonia. Etiologic agents are Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pneumococcus and Aspergillus, etc. Chest X-ray shows firm consolidation of the involved pulmonary lobe and bulging fissure due to the volume expansion of involved lung. CT-scan shows extensive lung parenchymal destructions with multiple small cavitary lesions. Recommended treatment is the early surgical intervention combined with antibiotics. Without surgical intervention, lung gangrene is known to progress toward sepsis, multiorgan failure, and high mortality. We report two cases of rapidly progressing massive lung gangrene by Klebsiella pneumonia treated by the resectional surgery.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.381-385
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• 2004

Pulmonary gangrene is a rare and severe complication of bacterial pneumonia, where a pulmonary segment or lobe is sloughed due to parenchymal devitalization of the parenchyma, with secondary anaerobic infection and necrosis caused by pulmonary vascular thrombosis. Prior to the antibiotic era, massive pulmonary gangrene was potentially fatal. Herein, a case of pulmonary gangrene in a 67-year-old man is reported. He complained of fever, chills, dyspnea and purulent sputum of 5 days duration. The plain chest radiograph showed well-marginated right upper lobe consolidation, with bulging minor fissure, suggestive of a Klebsiella infection. A contrast CT scan demonstrated consolidation of the right upper lobe, with a central necrotizing portion. Klebsiella species was confirmed from both sputum and blood cultures. After appropriate antibiotics, the chest X-ray and CT scan 3 weeks later showed a large cavity with an air-fluid level, sloughing-off and extrusion of necrotic lung tissue, suggestive of pulmonary gangrene. Seven months later, the right gangrenous lung showed severe volume loss on a chest radiograph. The management of pulmonary gangrene has been somewhat controversial. Herein, it was managed without surgical drainage or resection. If the antibiotic therapy had failed, then a surgical approach would have been considered.