What happens during a pleural fluid analysis?Your health care provider will need to remove some pleural fluid from your pleural space. This is done through a procedure called thoracentesis. The procedure may be done in a doctor's office or hospital. During the procedure:You will need to take off most of your clothes and then put on a paper or cloth gown to cover yourself.You will sit on a hospital bed or chair, with your arms resting on a padded table. This puts your body in the right position for the procedure.Your provider will clean an area on your back with an antiseptic solution.Your provider will inject a numbing medicine into your skin, so you won't feel any pain during the procedure.Once the area is completely numb, your provider will insert a needle in your back between the ribs. The needle will go into the pleural space. Your provider may use ultrasound imaging to help find the best spot to insert the needle.You may feel some pressure as the needle goes in.Your provider will withdraw fluid into the needle.You may be asked to hold your breath or breathe out deeply at certain times during the procedure.When enough fluid has been removed, the needle will be taken out and the procedure area will be bandaged.Blood tests for certain proteins are used to calculate Light's criteria. So you may also get a blood test.
