value of use of amino-terminal brain naturitic peptide as marker in cases of pleural effusion of different etiologies

ABSTRACT

Background: The criteria of Light et al. have been used to make the differentiation between transudate and exudate effusion for the past 25 years. The main problem with those criteria is that although they identify nearly all exudates correctly, they misidentify about 20-25% of transudates as exudates. The plasma NT-proBNP level is a sensitive marker of cardiac dysfunction and has proved to be a useful tool for the identification and management of systolic and diastolic cardiac dysfunction