Respiratory Flashcards
1
Q
What are the indications for placing a chest tube in oatients with suspected pleural infection?
A
- Patients with frankly purulent or turbid/cloudy pleural fluid .
- presence of organisms identified by culture indicating infection
- Pleural fluid pH < 7.2
2
Q
What is Lights Criteria? (chest drains)
A
help distinguish between a transudate and an exudate. The BTS recommend using the criteria for borderline cases:
- exudates have a protein level of >30 g/L, transudates have a protein level of <30 g/L
- if the protein level is between 25-35 g/L, Light’s criteria should be applied. An exudate is likely if at least one of the following criteria are met:
- pleural fluid protein divided by serum protein >0.5
- pleural fluid LDH divided by serum LDH >0.6
- pleural fluid LDH more than two-thirds the upper limits of normal serum LDH
