A Novel Bedside Technique for Differentiation of Exudative From Transudative Pleural Effusion
Background:At present, differentiation between exudative and transudative pleural effusion is based solely on laboratory measures and is time-consuming. Asimple bedside method would be of great help to differentiate between these two types of effusions.We present a new method for this purpose asse...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Iran University of Medical Sciences
2008-11-01
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| Series: | Medical Journal of The Islamic Republic of Iran |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://mjiri.tums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 |
| Summary: | Background:At present, differentiation between exudative and transudative pleural effusion is based solely on laboratory measures and is time-consuming. Asimple bedside method would be of great help to differentiate between these two types of effusions.We present a new method for this purpose assessed in 46 patients.Methods: Standard laboratory tests and our method were tested using the same fluid samples in 46 patients with pleural effusion. Aprincipal in physics called the capillary Tube law (h=2a/rpg) was used to compare the samples. The imbibition of the fluid level less than 15mm signified exudate and greater than 15mm signified transudate.Results: Our data shows that this method is 74% sensitive and 89.4% specific compared to the standard method when analyzed statistically by the chi-square and Kappa agreement (Cronbach’s K) tests. Conclusion: The capillary tube test has an acceptable validity for bedside diagnosis of exudative or transudative effusions. |
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| ISSN: | 1016-1430 2251-6840 |