text: Measuring LDH in fluid aspirated from a pleural effusion (or pericardial effusion) can help in the distinction between exudates (actively secreted fluid, e.g., due to inflammation) or transudates (passively secreted fluid, due to a high hydrostatic pressure or a low oncotic pressure). The usual criterion (included in Light's criteria) is that a ratio of pleural LDH to serum LDH greater than 0.6 or  the upper limit of the normal laboratory value for serum LDH indicates an exudate, while a ratio of less indicates a transudate. Different laboratories have different values for the upper limit of serum LDH, but examples include 200 and 300 IU/L. In empyema, the LDH levels, in general, will exceed 1000 IU/L.