TB or not TB…that is the question

Does this patient have an exudative pleural effusion? The Rational Clinical Examination systematic review.

Wilcox ME, Chong CA, Stanbrook MB, Tricco AC, Wong C, Straus SE.

JAMA. 2014 Jun 18;311(23):2422-31. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.5552.

“The diagnosis of an exudate was most accurate if cholesterol in the pleural fluid was greater than 55 mg/dL (LR range, 7.1-250), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was greater than 200 U/L (LR, 18; 95% CI, 6.8-46), or the ratio of pleural fluid cholesterol to serum cholesterol was greater than 0.3 (LR, 14; 95% CI, 5.5-38). A diagnosis of exudate was less likely when all Light’s criteria (a ratio of pleural fluid protein to serum protein >0.5, a ratio of pleural fluid LDH to serum LDH >0.6, or pleural fluid LDH >two-thirds the upper limit of normal for serum LDH) were absent (LR, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.02-0.11).”

Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation

Join Our Newsletter

Please complete this form to create an account, receive email updates and much more.
Contact Email *
First Name *
Last Name *
Facility or Organisation *
Designation or Occupation *
County or City *
Country *
Mobile number 
*
*Required Fields
I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. It is our responsibility to protect your privacy and we guarantee that your data will be completely confidential.
Strengthening emergency healthcare systems in Kenya to save lives.