Background:

pneumonia complicates 0,78-2,7 per 1 000 pregnancies placing the mother and the fetus at risk. Empyema as a complication of pneumonia in a pregnant patient adds a high rate of morbidity and mortality to the mother and the fetus if one does not act quickly.

Objective:

to present the case of a pregnant woman of 33 weeks who developed a pleural empyema resulting from acquired pneumonia.

Clinical case:

33-week gestated patient, asthmatic admitted to the intensive care unit of the University Hospital Manuel Ascunce Domenech with the diagnosis of severe pneumonia acquired in the community complicated with para-pneumonic effusion, which evolved into empyema. It was treated with a thoracotomy tube and fibrinolytic therapy, with good clinical and radiological evolution.

Conclusions:

Recombinant streptokinase can be used safely and effectively for the management of PE, as an intrapleural fibrinolytic agent, during pregnancy.

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