Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of patients with tuberculous pleural effusion and malignant pleural effusion
| Characteristics | TPE | MPE | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | n = 56 | n = 32 | |
| Male | 39 | 17 | |
| Female | 17 | 15 | |
| Age, yr | 43 (16–74) | 60 (31–71) | <0.001 |
| Pleural fluid | |||
| ADA, U/l | 41 (8–140) | 12 (2–76) | <0.001 |
| LDH, U/l | 332 (119–1269) | 269 (79–3373) | 0.377 |
| Protein, g/l | 49.4 (25–59) | 43.0 (36–53) | 0.015 |
| Total cell counts, ×109/l | 3.7 (1.0–13.3) | 6.8 (0.2–310.0) | 0.356 |
| Lymphocytes, % | 82 (20–97) | 80 (20–95) | 0.642 |
Data are presented as median (range). TPE, tuberculous pleural effusion; MPE, malignant pleural effusion; ADA, adenosine deaminase; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase. Comparisons were done by the Mann-Whitney U-test.