Bronchoalveolar lavage in the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia

Bronchoalveolar lavage in the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of protected bronchoalveolar lavage (PBAL) in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and to determine the effect of antibiotic therapy on its microbiological and cytological results. We prospectively studied 102 episodes of suspected VAP in 93 patients. Subsequent follow-up confirmed VAP in 35 of the 102 (34%) cases. In 55 of the 102...

Nonbronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage for diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia in newborns.

The appropriate treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) must be based on accurate diagnosis, which can be done by microbiological examination of the samples obtained from the respiratory tract by nonbronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavages (NB-BAL). This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of NB-BAL in diagnosing VAP in newborns. Two hundred and seven NB-BAL samples were o...

Gram stain of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in the early diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

To assess the usefulness of the Gram stain in the early diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), we performed 146 protected specimen brushings (PSB) and bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) in 118 patients suspected of having nosocomial pneumonia. Gram stain and counts of infected cells were performed in all samples from BAL fluid. A final diagnosis of pneumonia was established in 51 patien...

Quality of Non-Bronchoscopic Bronchoalveolar Lavage Specimens and the Diagnosis of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

Efficacy of bilateral bronchoalveolar lavage for diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common nosocomial infection causing significant morbidity and mortality. The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy of bilateral versus unilateral bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) for the detection of the causative bacterial agents of VAP. We retrospectively studied the quantitative bacterial cultures of 399 BAL sample pairs collected from 287 me...