Baseline characteristics
| Lupus pleuritis (n=11) | Infection-related pleural effusion (n=11) | Malignant pleural effusion (n=18) | Fluid overload (n=14) | |
| Demographics | ||||
| Age (years)* | 28 (23–44) | 71 (54–75)† | 69 (53–80)† | 69.5 (58–81)† |
| Female sex (%)* | 9 (82) | 2 (18)† | 10 (56) | 3 (21)† |
| Pleural effusion | ||||
| pH | 7.1 (6.8–7.4) | 7.1 (6.5–7.4) | 7.4 (7.1–7.5) | 7.1 (7.0–7.4) |
| White cell count (/μL)* | 380 (28–874) | 9350 (1782–33 398)† | 485 (300–1116) | 435.5 (210–1047) |
| Neutrophils (%)* | 8 (3–27) | 81 (35–94)† | 6 (0–17) | 5 (2–11) |
| Lymphocytes (%)* | 24 (10–52) | 9 (5–27) | 38.5 (21–74) | 49 (38–62) |
| Protein (mg/dL)* | 3.7 (2.2–4.5) | 4.1 (2.9–4.9) | 3.7 (3.3–4.2) | 1.8 (1.4–2.8)† |
| LDH (U/L)* | 125 (98–203) | 1081 (403–1935)† | 208 (155–394) | 79 (63–96)† |
| Glucose (mg/dL)* | 118 (104–131) | 62 (4–146) | 115 (108–139) | 137 (119–211) |
| Exudative* | 8 (73) | 11 (100) | 18 (100) | 0 (0)† |
Data are presented as median (IQR) or number (percentage).
*P<0.05 as determined by Kruskal-Wallis test or χ2 test.
†P<0.016 versus lupus pleuritis as determined by Mann-Whitney U test or χ2 test based on adjustment for multiple comparisons.
LDH, lactate dehydrogenase.