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Retired NBME Step 2 CK Free 120 Answers
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drdoom
hi @nbmehelp. if you are confused about a comment or unhappy with an explanation, please pose a specific question so we can help answer or clarify. thanks!
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rthavranek
But malignancy effusion also has glucose < 60 mg/dL so I was between that and increased protein. My reasoning was that cancer cells have high metabolic rate so they require increased energy/glucose
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cbreland
I thought the same thing @rthavranek , all exudative effusions should have increased protein. That being said, still picked decreased glucose
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submitted by โlen49(42)
Pt has malignant effusion, which you would expect to be exudative. Exudative is characterized by protein pleural/serum > 0.5 LDH pleural/serum >0.6, and a LDH >2/3 upper limit of normal. So that would be increased protein or increased LDH, LDH is not an answer, so easy to rule out.