Table 1: Blood investigations and values of pleural fluid analysis .
| Blood tests | Pleural fluid parameters | On admission | Day 8, after antibiotic therapy | |
| TC (cells/mm3) | 7900 | Cell count (cells/mm3) | 4500 | 150 |
| Polymorphs (%) | 89.4 | Polymorphs (%) | 90 | 60 |
| Platelet count (cells/mm3) | 85 000 | Polymorphonuclear count (cells/mm3) | 4050 | 90 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dL) | 4.73 | Serum/pleural fluid albumin gradient | 2.1 | - |
| Direct bilirubin (mg/dL) | 2.75 | Smear for AFB | Negative | - |
| Total protein (g/dL) | 6.5 | CB-NAAT for MTBa | Negative | - |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.1 | Pleural fluid Cytology | Negative for malignant cells | - |
| INR | 1.52 | Pleural fluid culture | Negative | Negative |
| HbsAg | Negative | |||
| Anti-hepatitis C virus serology | Negative |
Abbreviations: AFB, acid fast bacilli; HbsAg, hepatitis B surface antigen; INR, International normalized ratio.
a Cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test for mycobacterium tuberculosis (CB-NAAT for MTB).