At an isolated weather station in the central United States, a technician emerges from a small brick shed grasping a balloon. It's not just any birthday party balloon, mind you, but a massive, white sphere more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter.
Most frequently, the lung abscess arises as a complication of aspiration pneumonia caused by mouth anaerobes. The patients who develop lung abscess are predisposed to aspiration and commonly have periodontal disease.
Infection of the respiratory tract by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in adult patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) (15). Recent advances in antimicrobial therapy against lung pathogens have dramatically contributed to increased life expectancy of CF patients.