Procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, and cell counts in the diagnosis of parapneumonic pleural effusions.

Background And Objective: Pleural effusion is relatively common in pneumonia. Because traditional methods for its diagnosis are not always effective, there is a need for new biomarkers to make its differential diagnosis easier.

Methods: A total of 233 patients with pleural effusion were admitted to our hospital between 2005 and 2008.