%0 Journal Article
%T A New Approach in Distinguishing Exudative and Transudative Pleural Effusions
%A Tekin Y£¿ld£¿z
%A Abdurrahman £¿enyi£¿it
%A Yusuf £¿elik
%A Levent Aky£¿ld£¿z
%J Turk Toraks Dergisi
%D 2010
%I Aves Yayincilik
%X Objective: Light¡¯s criteria, which were accepted in 1972 for the differential diagnosis of pleural effusions as transudates or exudates, are widely used worldwide. It has been reported in various studies that Light¡¯s criteria have lower specificity, and new recommendations have emerged. The discriminative ability of Light¡¯s criteria and adapted formulas, which are our new proposal, were studied by Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROCs) analysis and Area Under the Curves (AUCs).Material and Method: These criteria were evaluated in 451 patients in our study. Of these cases, 151 had transudates, while 300 patients presented with exudates. Results: AUCs of Light¡¯s criteria (P/Sprot, P/SLDH, PLDH) were measured as 0.931 (95%CI: 0.899-0.963), 0.936(95%CI: 0.904-0967) and 0.957(95%CI: 0.934-0.981), respectively, and the differences between the measured values were found to be statistically significant (p<.001). AUCs of our new adapted formulas (F-1, F-2, F-3) were found to be slightly higher than those of Light¡¯s criteria, with the values of 0.987(95%CI: 0.976-0.998), 0.935(95%CI 0:.908-0.963) and 0.980(95%CI: 0.966-0.993), respectively, and the differences were also significant (p<.001). Conclusion: In our opinion, further studies are needed with a wider study population to determine the value of the new formulas in differentiating exudative and transudative pleural effusions. Proving our proposal would be useful in clinical practices.
%K Pleural fluid
%K transudates
%K exudates
%K Light¡¯s criteria
%U http://www.toraks.org.tr/journal/text.php3?id=665