Table 2 Chemical measurements, cellular characteristics, and survival as a function of pleural fluid appearance.
Characteristics | Pleural Fluid Color | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Non-bloody n = 206 | Bloody n = 159 | p value | |
Primary malignancy, No. (%) | |||
Lung | 107 (51.9%) | 70 (44.0%) | |
Breast | 45 (21.8%) | 31 (19.5%) | |
Gastrointestinal | 11 (5.4%) | 12 (7.5%) | |
Leukemia | 6 (2.9%) | 11 (6.9%) | |
Lymphoma | 10 (4.9%) | 6 (3.8%) | |
Other tumors | 27 (13.1%) | 29 (18.3%) | |
Previous thoracentesis | |||
Mean (95% CI) | 1.7 (1.6 - 1.9) | 1.8 (1.7 - 1.9) | NS |
Mean survival | |||
Days (95%CI) | 176.9 (141.2 - 212.6) | 130.8 (101.0 - 160.6) | NS |
Fluid chemistry, Mean (95%CI) | |||
Glucose (mg/dl) | 102.9 (96.6 - 109.2) | 93.5 (86.5 - 100.4) | <0.05 |
Protein (g/dl) | 3.8 (3.7 - 4.0) | 4.1 (3.9 - 4.3) | NS |
LDH (IU/dl) | 863.4 (680.8 - 1046.1) | 1913.6 (1454.1 - 2373.1) | <0.01 |
Cholesterol (mg/dl) | 70.8 (66.3 - 75.3) | 73.1 (67.8 - 78.4) | NS |
Cellular characteristics, Mean (95%CI) | |||
Mean WBC 103/μL | 0.7 (0.6 - 0.9) | 1.6 (0.9 - 2.3) | <0.01 |
Mean RBC 103/μL | 12.3 (7.1 - 17.5) | 220.5 (81.8 - 359.2) | <0.01 |
PMN cells (%) | 15.0 (12.0 - 18.0) | 20.5 (16.5 - 24.5) | <0.05 |
Mononuclear cells (%) | 64.0 (60.0 - 68.0) | 60.8 (56.3 - 65.3) | NS |
Cytology, No. (%) | |||
Positive | 170 (82.5%) | 131 (82.4%) | NS |
Negative | 36 (17.5%) | 28 (17.6%) | NS |