... of the pulmonologists use pleural fluid pH to manage complicated parapneumonic effusions. Forty-three percent did not recognize blood gas analyzer solely as the most accurate and validated method. Thirty-nine percent of the physicians who use pleural pH to manage effusions and believe that blood gas analyzers...

...Lukas Kern; John Robert; Martin Brutsche Parapneumonic effusions or empyemas are frequently seen in patients with lower respiratory tract infections. The condition is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Since Gram stains and bacterial cultures are usually negative, treatment...

... in pleural fluid of empyema cases has the highest mean of 1,470.68 (p < 0.05). The lactic acid dehydrogenase was found increased in malignancy, tuberculosis and parapneumonic effusion cases. Lactate level was found extremely high in empyema cases with a mean value of 13.68. It was also found extremely...

...John E. Heffner; John N. Heffner; Lee K. Brown Background: Although clinical practice guidelines endorse the use of pleural fluid pH to select patients with parapneumonic effusions for pleural drainage, no studies have reported likelihood ratios for pleural fluid pH. Objectives: We derived...

...M. Vives; J.M. Porcel; I. Gázquez; B. Pérez; M. Rubio Background and Objective: We have tested whether the complement activation products SC5b-9 and C3a-desArg are useful to distinguish complicated (CPE) from uncomplicated parapneumonic effusions (UPE). Design: A total of 66 patients were enrolled...