Concordant and Discordant Exudates and Their Effect on the Accuracy of Light's Criteria to Diagnose Exudative Pleural Effusions

In a significant percentage of patients, there is discordancy between the results of the PFA and the final clinical diagnosis. DE decreased the accuracy of Light's criteria to identify exudate PE, increasing the risk of misclassifying a transudate as an exudate. Concordant exudates almost universally established the presence of an exudative PE.