Prevention of Empyema
The outlook for empyema with prompt treatment is good. Long-term damage to the lungs is rare. You should finish your prescribed antibiotics and go in for a follow-up chest X-ray. Your doctor can make sure your pleura has healed properly.
However, in people with other conditions that compromise the immune system, empyema can have a mortality rate as high as 40 percent.
If it’s not treated, empyema can lead to potentially life-threatening complications such as sepsis.