Inclusion Criteria

– Patients with CPPE and empyema requiring chest tube placement as standard of care for inpatient management of their pleural space infection with or without intrapleural tPA/DNase therapy

– Age > 18 years old.

Exclusion Criteria

– Chest tube has been in situ greater than 24 hours.

– Patients who have chest tubes that can’t accommodate a three-way stopcock.

– Chest tube is an indwelling tunneled pleural catheter.

– Study subject has any disease or condition that interferes with the safe completion of the study.

– Inability to provide informed consent.

– If the managing clinician believes the chest tube will be placed for less than 24 hours.

– Patients admitted with an indwelling chest tube following pleuroscopy or alternate pleural procedure preceding tube placement.

– Patient has already undergone a pleural procedure for the treatment of the pleural infection of interest (ex: prior chest tube placement or VATS with decortication).