Conclusion
Corticosteroids may be an important part of the therapeutic
armamentarium for children with parapneumonic effusion. Obviously, lots
of questions have to be answered: what molecule (if any) should be used,
what posology, when to initiate the treatment (in the early phase of the
disease, or later?), what duration of treatment, what patients would
benefit from this treatment? As a first step in addressing these
questions, our data, despite their limitations, indicate that
corticosteroids could be associated with a significant reduction in the
use of surgical procedures and with a prompt clinical improvement.
Corticosteroids could thus offer a non-invasive therapeutic alternative
for children with parapneumonic effusions when antibiotics and pleural
drainage are considered ineffective.