A 66-year-old man comes to the office due to increasing shortness of breath over the past 5 days. He has had a nonproductive cough for several months. . The patient appears ill. Neck veins are nondistended. There is decreased chest expansion on the right side. Auscultation reveals decreased breath sounds over the right lung base. Chest imaging shows a right lower lobe infiltrate and a small, free-flowing pleural effusion on the right side. Thoracentesis is performed. Laboratory results are as follows: Which of the following processes best explains this patient's pleural fluid findings?

Question

A 66-year-old man comes to the office due to increasing shortness of breath over the past 5 days.  He has had a nonproductive cough for several months. .  The patient appears ill.  Neck veins are nondistended.  There is decreased chest expansion on the right side.  Auscultation reveals decreased breath sounds over the right lung base.  Chest imaging shows a right lower lobe infiltrate and a small, free-flowing pleural effusion on the right side.  Thoracentesis is performed.  Laboratory results are as follows:  Which of the following processes best explains this patient's pleural fluid findings?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Parapneumonic effusions are exudative by Light criteria and are classified into uncomplicated and complicated.  Uncomplicated parapneumonic effusions result from movement of sterile exudate into the pleural space, whereas complicated parapneumonic effusions involve inflammatory disruption of the visceral pleural membrane with bacterial translocation into the pleural space.

A 66-Year-Old Man Comes to the Office Due to Increasing