Study of pleural fluid cholesterol and lactate dehydrogenase to differentiate exudate from transudate and compared with Light’s criteria

Background: Pleural effusion is the one of the most common Respiratory diseases admitted in the medical ward, most often diagnosed by clinical, radiological and pleural fluid analysis. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Government Royapettah hospital in the Department of Medicine during the period January 2016 to August 2016. Patients admitted as in-patients in medical wards and newly diagnosed to have pleural effusion clinically and radiologically were included in the study. Results: 10 cases out of fifty cases in the study were below the age of thirty years comprising 20% of total cases. 17 cases between 31-40 years comprised 34% of total cases. Lymphocytic pleural effusion was 21 cases out of 50 cases comprising 42%. Conclusion: Pleural fluid cholesterol and LDH test is useful to differentiate pleural fluid exudate and transudate with the advantage of requiring only two laboratory parameters and no simultaneous blood sample especially in countries like India, with financial and technical constraints.