[Chinese expert consensus on diagnosis of pleural effusion].

nucleic acid amplification and culture.(3)C-reactive protein (CRP) of PE is recommended to distinguish uncomplicated PPE from complicated PPE. It is suggested to inoculate pleural effusion into blood culture bottles or culturing specimens from ultrasound-guided pleural biopsy to increase the positive rate.The main recommendations of Chapter Ⅲ were as follows:(1) It is recommended to comprehensively analyze the patients' medical history, clinical manifestations, effusion characteristics, and biopsy pathological results to indentify uncommon causes.(2) It is recommended to detect the presence of chylomicrons or cholesterol crystals, with testing of the levels of triglyceride and cholesterol in PE for clinical suspicion of chylothorax or pseudochylothorax. (3) PE may be the result of a combination of various causes, and it is recommended to screen factors such as heart failure, hypoalbuminemia, and thoracic infection for critical patients.(4) For patients with PE whose cause has not been identified by thoracoscopic pleural biopsy, close follow-up for at least 2 years is recommended to exclude malignant diseases.