This study aimed to explore older peoples' definitions of, and priorities for, a good quality of life for themselves and their peers. Nine hundred and ninety-nine people aged 65 and over, living at home in Britain, were interviewed for the study. Good social relationships were the most commonly mentioned constituent that gave respondents' lives quality (mentioned by 81 percent). Other important factors were social roles and activities, health, psychological outlook and well-being, home and neighborhood, finances, and independence. Poor health was most often mentioned as taking quality away from life (by 50 percent). Social relationships and health were judged to be the most important areas. Having health and enough money were the two most frequently mentioned things that would improve the quality of their own lives and those of their peers (though in different order of magnitude). The need for dynamic, multidimensional, and integrated models of quality of life in older age is suggested by these results.

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Parapneumonic effusion is defined as the accumulation of pleural fluid associated with lung infection/pneumonia. Parapneumonic effusions can be uncomplicated or complicated. They are caused by the spread of infection and inflammation to the pleural space, and can develop into empyema thoracis—frank pus in the pleural space. Chest radiograph and thoracic ultrasound are the key imaging modalities for the diagnosis of parapneumonic effusion. Management aims are reducing inflammation and bacteria in the pleural cavity, and enabling full lung expansion. Broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics, with the addition of chest tube drainage and fibrinolytic therapy for larger collections, are the mainstays of management. This article provides a clear, evidence-based and structured approach to the assessment and management of parapneumonic effusion/empyema thoracis in children and young people.