Urinothorax and pleural fluid creatinine: a retrospective analysis of pleural fluid studies at a tertiary care center and a review of the literature.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Urinothorax is a somewhat vaguely defined entity in the pulmonary literature. It is believed to be due to obstructive renal failure resulting in translocation of urine into the pleural space, presenting as transudative pleural effusions. The literature is sparse, and much of the reported data revolves around case reports and series, with less than 100 cases reported to date. The hallmark finding defining urinothorax is a pleural fluid to serum creatinine ratio greater than 1, although this ratio has not been verified in the literature. Further, the utility of this ratio beyond identification of urinothorax is unknown. Pleural fluid creatinine values may be useful beyond identification of urinothorax, and may have diagnostic value in identifying pleural effusions from per

SUBMITTER: Shayani KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12688617 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature