Table 1 Clinical characteristics of the healthy controls and patients in this study
Characteristics | Healthy (N = 26) | Transudates (N = 11) | Noninfectious exudates (N = 22) | UPPE (N = 40) | CPPE (N = 17) | Empyema (N = 21) | p valuea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gender (M; F) | 19; 7 | 10; 1 | 13; 9 | 34; 6 | 15; 2 | 15; 6 | ― |
Age (years) | 68.7; 67 (60–76) | 74.7; 83 (59–88) | 72.1; 80 (50–88) | 71.6; 77 (58–86) | 63.4; 58 (50–79) | 68.6; 68 (59–82) | 0.301 |
Pleural effusion | |||||||
Proteins (g/dl) | ― | 1.89; 1.86 (1.41–2.20) | 3.79; 3.95 (2.91–4.50) | 3.83; 3.64 (3.06–4.64) | 4.52; 4.56 (4.06–5.08) | 3.91; 4.38 (2.80–4.98) | < 0.001 |
Glucose (mg/dl) | ― | 173.7; 156.0 (126.0–211.0) | 154.2; 147.0 (102.5–178.3) | 159.3; 141.0 (112.5–178.5) | 47.6; 37.0 (9.0–70.5) | 42.0; 21.0 (1.0–51.5) | < 0.001 |
LDH (U/l) | ― | 80.3; 81.0 (53.0–95.0) | 257.8; 209.0 (134.8–364.8) | 360.2; 238.5 (142.8–654.5) | 1217.0; 1112.0 (808.5–1546) | 7213.0; 2738.0 (956.5–6590) | < 0.001 |
pH | ― | 7.465; 7.451 (7.427–7.503) | 7.435; 7.426 (7.364–7.480) | 7.429; 7.404 (7.335–7.507) | 7.192; 7.165 (7.131–7.277) | 6.959; 6.957 (6.790–7.204) | < 0.001 |