Respiratory Rate and Diagnosis of Pleural Effusion
- Dennis M. Manning, MD manning.dennis@mayo.eduDepartment of MedicineMayo Clinic College of MedicineRochester, Minnesota
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
To the Editor: In their Rational Clinical Examination article, Dr Wong and colleagues1 addressed the question of whether a patient with pulmonary symptoms needs diagnostic imaging to rule out pleural effusion. Although they evaluated the accuracy of 8 physical examination findings, it was striking that they did not include tachypnea.2
Although there is interobserver variability in the measurement of respiratory rate,3 it is a legitimate part of the physical examination. It would be surprising if the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive accuracy of respiratory rate for pleural effusion have never been studied.
Financial Disclosures: None reported.
Letters Section Editor: Robert M. Golub, MD, Senior Editor.
