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Categorisation of likelihood of pleural infection on the basis of pleural fluid pH and recommended actions as suggested by the 2023 British Thoracic Society guidelines [8]
| Pleural fluid pH | Likelihood of pleural infection | Recommended actions |
| ≤7.2 | High | Intercostal drain insertion |
| >7.2 and <7.4 | Intermediate | 1) Check pleural fluid LDH and glucose; 2) consider intercostal drain if LDH >900 IU·L−1 and glucose ≤4 mmol·L−1 |
| ≥7.4 | Low | Intercostal drain insertion not indicated |
