Clinical QuickiePulmonary
Pleural Effusion
Pleural fluid is a finding — the question is why it accumulated.
Think transudate vs exudate
Heart failure/cirrhosis and other pressure/oncotic processes often produce transudative fluid; infection, malignancy and inflammation more often produce exudative fluid.
Light's criteria classify, not diagnose
Protein and LDH relationships help categorize pleural fluid but must be interpreted with clinical context.
Diuretics can blur the pattern
Heart-failure effusions after diuresis may meet exudative criteria despite a transudative mechanism.
Drainage depends on the syndrome
Large symptomatic, infected/complicated, loculated or diagnostically unclear effusions may require thoracentesis or drainage.
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