Pleural Effusion: Likelihood Ratios

Introduction: None written.

The likelihood ratios of findings for Pleural Effusion are listed below. See the left navigation bar to change the display.

Good Positive and Negative Likelihood Ratios

Finding	+LR	-LR	Comments, Study
Auscultatory dullness to percussion	inf	0.1	This involves percussing (tapping) the along patient's back while listening on the ipsilateral side with the stethoscope below the diaphragm. See the study for more details. Other techniques have yielded lower sensitivities, down to 19%. Study: Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine April 2008 vol. 75 no. 4 297-303 http://www.ccjm.org/content/75/4/297.full.pdf+html
Ultrasound	15.6	0.1	thoracic ultrasound Study: J Am Coll Cardiol. 2000 May;35(6):1638-46 PMID: 10807471
Absent breath sounds	8.8	0.1	Study: Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine April 2008 vol. 75 no. 4 297-303 http://www.ccjm.org/content/75/4/297.full.pdf+html
Dullness to percussion	3.1	0.2	Study: Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine April 2008 vol. 75 no. 4 297-303 http://www.ccjm.org/content/75/4/297.full.pdf+html
Asymmetric tactile fremitus	5.9	0.2	Study: Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine April 2008 vol. 75 no. 4 297-303 http://www.ccjm.org/content/75/4/297.full.pdf+html
Asymmetric lung expansion	8.2	0.3	Study: Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine April 2008 vol. 75 no. 4 297-303 http://www.ccjm.org/content/75/4/297.full.pdf+html

Good Positive Likelihood Ratio

inf

0.6

NOTE: Sensitivity for the right hemithorax was ~50% while on the left it was ~25%!

Study: J Am Coll Cardiol. 2000 May;35(6):1638-46 PMID: 10807471

Study: Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine April 2008 vol. 75 no. 4 297-303