OVERVIEW
Light’s criteria is used to determine if an effusion is exudative or transudative.
Fluid is exudate if one of the following Light’s Criteria Is Present:
- Effusion of protein/serum protein ratio is great than 0.5
- Effusion LDH/serum LDH ratio is greater then 0.6
- Effusion LDH is greater than two-thirds the upper limit of lab’s reference range of serum LDH
Page Updated: 05.11.2019