21st February 2025

A 65-year-old woman presents to A&E with 2 weeks of worsening breathlessness.

A 65-year-old woman presents to A&E with 2 weeks of worsening breathlessness. A chest X-ray in A&E demonstrates a large unilateral pleural effusion. The medical team decide to carry out a diagnostic pleural aspiration to try to identify the underlying pathology causing the effusion. 

Which of the following combination of tests need to be performed in order to assess whether the effusion is an exudate or transudate using Light’s criteria?

Select the SINGLE most appropriate option from the list below. Select ONE option only.