Comparison of Diagnostic Efficacy of Cholinesterase Levels to Differentiate Pleural Exudates and Transudates that of Lights Criteria

Pleural effusion is a common clinical condition faced in everyday practice. The first step in the management of pleural effusion is its differentiation into transudates and exudates. Light's criteria is the most widely used parameter to differentiate pleural effusions but studies have shown that Light's criteria misclassifies a significant number of cases. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the usefulness of pleural fluid cholinesterase (PChE) level in pleural fluid to differentiate transudates and exudates and to compare their diagnostic efficacy with the Light's criteria.