What are the Lights criteria used for in diagnosing pleural effusions in adults with a history of respiratory or cardiac conditions?

Light's Criteria for Pleural Effusion Diagnosis

Definition and Purpose

Light's criteria are biochemical parameters used to differentiate exudative from transudative pleural effusions, serving as the first-line diagnostic tool to guide further investigation and management. 1

The criteria classify a pleural effusion as an exudate if it meets at least one of the following three parameters: 1, 2

• Pleural fluid to serum protein ratio >0.5
• Pleural fluid to serum LDH ratio >0.6
• Pleural fluid LDH >0.67 (or 67%) of the upper limit of normal serum LDH value

Meeting any single criterion is sufficient to classify the effusion as exudative. 1

Performance Characteristics

Light's criteria demonstrate excellent sensitivity but moderate specificity: 1, 3

• Sensitivity: 98% - highly effective at identifying exudates and avoiding missed diagnoses of serious conditions like malignancy or infection
• Specificity: 72% - lower ability to correctly identify transudates
• Positive likelihood ratio: 3.5
• Negative likelihood ratio: 0.03

The criteria were deliberately designed to maximize exudate detection to prevent missing potentially life-threatening conditions such as malignancy, infection, or tuberculosis. 1, 2

Clinical Application Algorithm

When Serum Samples Are Available

Apply all three Light's criteria using paired pleural fluid and serum samples. 1

When Serum Samples Are NOT Available

Use the alternative "or" rule with equivalent discriminative capacity: 1, 4

• Pleural fluid LDH >67% of upper limit of normal serum LDH OR
• Pleural fluid cholesterol >55 mg/dL

This approach avoids the need for blood sampling while maintaining diagnostic accuracy. 1

Critical Pitfalls and Misclassification

Common Misclassification Problem

Approximately 25-30% of cardiac and hepatic transudates are incorrectly classified as exudates by Light's criteria, particularly in patients receiving diuretic therapy. 1, 4, 5

Correcting False Exudates

When Light's criteria suggest exudate but clinical suspicion strongly favors heart failure or cirrhosis (especially with values close to cut-off points), apply these reclassification tools: 1, 3

Albumin gradient (serum albumin minus pleural fluid albumin) >1.2 g/dL correctly reclassifies approximately 80% of false exudates back to transudates. 1, 3

Alternative: Albumin ratio (pleural fluid/serum albumin) <0.6 provides equivalent reclassification. 1

NT-proBNP measurement (pleural fluid or serum) >1500 μg/mL identifies heart failure-related effusions with 92% sensitivity and 88% specificity for serum levels. 1, 3

Cardiac Exudate Scoring System

For effusions meeting Light's criteria for exudate but suspected to be cardiac in origin, use this validated scoring system (score ≥7 indicates cardiac etiology with 92% diagnostic accuracy): 1

• Age ≥75 years: 3 points
• Albumin gradient >1.2 g/dL: 3 points
• Pleural fluid LDH <250 U/L: 2 points
• Bilateral effusion on chest X-ray: 2 points
• Protein gradient >2.5 g/dL: 1 point

Analytical Platform Variability

Different laboratory analyzers can produce discordant results in 18% of cases, particularly affecting LDH measurements in pleural fluid versus serum. 6 Clinicians should be aware that assays may perform differently in pleural fluid compared to serum, potentially affecting classification near cut-off values. 6

Alternative Diagnostic Approaches

While Light's criteria remain the gold standard, combining pleural fluid cholesterol and LDH (without serum samples) achieves 98% accuracy, 98% sensitivity, and 95% specificity—superior to Light's criteria alone. 7 However, this approach is not yet widely adopted in clinical guidelines. 7

What Light's Criteria Cannot Do

Imaging modalities (CT, ultrasound, MRI) cannot reliably replace biochemical analysis for transudate-exudate differentiation, despite differences in radiodensity between effusion types. 1, 3 Hounsfield unit measurements on CT show significant overlap between transudates and exudates (sensitivity 69%, specificity 66%). 1

Clinical Context for Transudates vs Exudates

More than 80% of transudates are due to heart failure, followed by liver cirrhosis (10%), with most responding to diuretic therapy without requiring further investigation. 1, 3

Exudates warrant additional diagnostic procedures including cytology, microbiological cultures, pH measurement, and glucose levels to identify malignancy, infection (parapneumonic effusion/empyema), tuberculosis, or autoimmune conditions. 1, 2