Clinical and laboratory parameters in the differential diagnosis of pleural effusion secondary to tuberculosis or cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics of pleural effusions secondary to tuberculosis (TB) or cancer (CA).

Methods: A total of 326 patients with pleural effusion due to TB (n=182) or CA (n=144) were studied. The following parameters were analyzed: patient gender, age and pleural effusion characteristics (size, location, macroscopic fluid aspect, protein concentration, lactate dehydrogenase (DHL) and adenosine deaminase activity (ADA) and nucleated cell counts).