Characteristics of parapneumonic empyema-related hospitalisations in the USA, 1996–2008*
| <18 years (n=26 125) | 18–39 years (n=22 185) | 40–64 years (n=62 358) | ≥65 years (n=46 375) | All (n=157 094) | |
| Age, years | 5.1 (5 to 5.3) | 30.7 (30.6 to 30.9) | 51.9 (51.8 to 52) | 76.7 (76.5 to 76.8) | 48.4 (47.5 to 49.4) |
| Female, % | 44.7 (43.4 to 46) | 30.2 (28.8 to 31.6) | 30.8 (30 to 31.7) | 40.1 (39.1 to 41.2) | 35.8 (35.2 to 36.4) |
| Race, % | |||||
| White | 42 (38.7 to 45.3) | 52 (49.8 to 54.3) | 56.7 (54.8 to 58.6) | 65.3 (63.3 to 67.2) | 56.1 (54.4 to 57.8) |
| African-American | 11.4 (9.3 to 13.4) | 10.9 (9.7 to 12.1) | 9.7 (8.8 to 10.6) | 5.1 (4.5 to 5.7) | 8.8 (8.0 to 9.5) |
| Hispanic | 13.1 (10.8 to 15.4) | 9.2 (8 to 10.4) | 5.9 (5.2 to 6.5) | 3.6 (3.1 to 4.1) | 6.9 (6.2 to 7.6) |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 3.7 (2.8 to 4.5) | 1.6 (1.2 to 2) | 1.4 (1.1 to 1.7) | 1.8 (1.4 to 2.2) | 1.9 (1.7 to 2.2) |
| Native American | 0.8 (0.4 to 1.2) | 0.7 (0.3 to 1) | 0.4 (0.3 to 0.6) | 0.3 (0.1 to 0.4) | 0.5 (0.3 to 0.6) |
| Other | 4.5 (3.6 to 5.4) | 2 (1.6 to 2.5) | 1.8 (1.5 to 2.1) | 1.5 (1.2 to 1.8) | 2.2 (1.9 to 2.5) |
| Missing | 23.6 (18.5 to 28.6) | 24.1 (21.3 to 27.0) | 24.5 (22.2 to 26.9) | 23.0 (20.7 to 25.3) | 23.7 (21.7 to 25.7) |
| Length of stay, days | 11.8 (11.4 to 12.2) | 14.4 (14 to 14.8) | 15.6 (15.4 to 15.9) | 16.8 (16.4 to 17.1) | 15.2 (15.0 to 15.4) |
| Thoracentesis†, % | 84.6 (82.7 to 86.5) | 91.3 (90.4 to 92.2) | 88.4 (87.7 to 89) | 81.6 (80.8 to 82.5) | 86.2 (85.6 to 86.7) |
| In-hospital case fatality, % | 0.4 (0.3 to 0.6) | 2.2 (1.8 to 2.7) | 5.2 (4.8 to 5.6) | 16.1 (15.3 to 16.9) | 7.2 (6.8 to 7.5) |