Use of C-reactive Protein in Differential Diagnosis of Tuberculous Pleural Effusion and Carcinomatous Pleural Effusions

Objective To investigate the value of C-reactive protein(CRP) in differential diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusions and carcinomatous pleural effusions.Methods Pleural fluid CRP levels were obtained in 30 patients with tuberculous pleural effusions and 30 patients with carcinomatous pleural effusions.We compared the different CRP levels between the tuberculous pleural effusions(30 cases) and carcinomatous pleural effusions(30 cases).Results The CRP levels of the tuberculous group were exceeded the carcinomatous group obviously(P0.05).Conclusions The detection of pleural effusions CRP levels are one of the most important test in differential diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusions and carcinomatous pleural effusions.