Background A wide range of diseases can cause pleural effusion. Its diagnosis and management remain a clinical challenge, bearing a significant cost to both patients and health care system.
Objective To assess the role of procalcitonin (PCT) level in discriminating transudative from exudative pleural effusion and in differentiation between some types of exudative effusion.
Patients and methods A total of 45 patients having pleural effusion were enrolled in this study and were divided into two groups. Group I included 15 patients having transudative pleural effusion. Group II included 30 patients having exudative pleural effusion. This group was subdivided into group IIa, which included 10 patients having tuberculous effusion; group IIb, which included 10 patients having malignant effusion; and group IIc, which included 10 patients having parapneumonic effusion. Quantitative measurement of PCT in both serum and pleural fluid was done using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results Exudative effusion had significantly higher levels of serum and pleural PCT when compared with transudative one. Regarding serum and pleural PCT levels in different types of exudative effusion, highest level was in parapneumonic followed by malignant, and then tuberculous pleural effusion, and the difference between them was statistically significant.
Conclusion Measurement of both serum and pleural PCT may be used to differentiate transudative from exudative type of pleural effusion and may be used also to discriminate parapneumonic from other causes of exudative pleural effusion.