Context: The incidence of pleural effusion is approximately one million per year. For diagnosing and treatment plan, pleural effusions have to be classified into transudate and exudate. If the diagnosis is not appropriate, it may result in severe complications. The established criterion for differentiating exudates from transudates is Light's criteria. But there were some false positive results in case of transudative effusions when Light's criteria were used. Aims: This study was done to determine the accuracy of serum effusion albumin gradient (SEAG) when compared to Light's criteria in differentiating transudates and exudates. Settings and Design: It is a prospective observational study. In the present study, the sample size is 66 patients, in whom the SEAG was used for the classification of pleural effusions with a cut-off value of 1.2 g/dl. Methods and Materials: All the blood samples were collected and biochemical parameters like total protein, albumin, and LDH were analyzed in both serum and pleural fluid using XL 640 fully automated random access analyzer. Statistical Analysis Used: Results were analyzed using SPSS software version 20. Results: 20 of 22 transudates and 41 of 44 exudates were classified correctly using SEAG. The diagnostic accuracy of SEAG (92.42%) is better than Light's criteria (87.87%) in differentiating both transudative and exudative effusions. Conclusions: The SEAG is superior to Light's criteria in identifying the transudative effusions. It is also observed that Light's criteria identified exudative effusions better than SEAG.

BACKGROUND Hypothyroidism is associated with insulin resistance and hyperlipidaemia. Insulin resistance is the reason behind type 2 diabetes mellitus and is found in mild thyroid dysfunction with increased risk of dyslipidaemia. Prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk is more common in hypothyroidism. Hence regular screening of blood glucose and lipid profile in hypothyroidism individuals may prevent dreaded complications. The aim of this study to evaluate the role of thyroid dysfunction on alteration of glucose and lipid metabolism leading to insulin resistance, an important risk factor for cardio vascular diseases. METHODS In this study, we included 50 subjects, aged 25 to 35 years. This is a case control study conducted in the department of Biochemistry. Investigations like fasting and post prandial blood sugar, HbA1c and lipid profile (Cholesterol, Triglycerides, HDL, LDL & VLDL) were done. Blood pressure was measured. Body weight and height were measured, and BMI was calculated. All the parameters were analysed using XL 640 fully automated random-access analyser. Data was analysed using GraphPad QuickCalcs software. RESULTS The cases were selected based on T4 and TSH concentrations whose values were significantly decreased and elevated respectively. The patients with hypothyroidism exhibited significant increase in concentration of total cholesterol, LDL, fasting blood glucose and HbA1c while HDL (p<0.05) showed a decrease in its concentration in comparison to controls. BMI and diastolic blood pressure showed significant elevation in hypothyroid individuals when compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS It is evident from this study that insulin resistance may lead to T2DM in individuals with thyroid dysfunction. Disturbed lipid metabolism may eventually lead to cardiovascular complications in patients with thyroid dyscrasias.