Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed on 11 atopic patients with mild asymptomatic bronchial asthma and 11 healthy nonasthmatic volunteers. All asthmatic subjects had evidence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness to inhaled carbachol. The concentrations of leukotriene (LT) C4, LTD4, LTE4, LTB4, prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), platelet-activating factor (PAF) and histamine in BAL fluid measured. The l...

It is well known that cross reactions with other fungal pathogens including Histoplasma capsulatum can occur with the use of the Platelia™ Aspergillus galactomannan assay. We report two patients with confirmed blastomycosis whose bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid tested positive for Aspergillus galactomannan despite no evidence of aspergillosis.

Background: Protozoa have the ability to replace human lung. Over recent years, incidence of pulmonary infections caused by these microorganisms has increased, particularly in individuals with an immunodeficiency. The use appropriate diagnostic methods is important identification parasites secretions. Objectives: present study aimed evaluate and compare PCR-based gold standard method detect thr...

Previous studies on bleomycin-induced alveolitis in rats have demonstrated a transient histological accumulation of hyaluronan (hyaluronate or hyaluronic acid) in the alveolar interstitium, corresponding to increases in hyaluronan (HA) levels in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung tissue extracts. The accumulation of HA was related to the influx of inflammatory cells, especially polymor...

Although the application of thoracic high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) to clinical pulmonology has revolutionised the diagnostic approach to patients with suspected interstitial lung disease (ILD), additional testing is often needed to make a confident ILD diagnosis. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) can play a significant role in making an accurate and confident diagnosis of specific forms...

We report a fatal case of acute interstitial pneumonitis in a patient treated with carmustine (BCNU) for a brain tumor. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) revealed lymphocyte alveolitis with a low CD4/CD8 ratio (0.36), consistent with an immunoallergic phenomenon, rather than the most often evoked toxic hypothesis.

Abbreviations: HSCT: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantations; ALL: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia; URI: Upper Respiratory Infections; Hmpv: Human Metapneumovirus; RSV: Respiratory Syncytial Virus; AML: Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia; LRI: Lower Respiratory Infections; CMV: Cytomegalovirus; Gvhd: Graft Versus Host Disease; BAL: Bronchoalveolar Lavage; PICU: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit; IVIG: Intra...

Macrophages play a central role in the defence of the respiratory tract against deposited particles. In addition to the well-studied alveolar macrophages, airway macrophages have been recognized as an important clearance factor. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) has been used for functional and morphological investigations of macrophages in vitro, assuming that all macrophages are removed with equal...

Methods Retrospective descriptive study that included 16 ventilated patients admitted to the ICU, which underwent a lung biopsy between 2008 and 2013. Demographic data, reason for admission, comorbidities, APACHEII, SOFA, SAPS3, reason for biopsy, clinical data, laboratory results, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), radiological pattern and histology, were analyzed. Changes in treatment generated by...

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the demonstration of plasma cells (PC), which are normally absent in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, facilitates differentiation among pulmonary disorders. Initial BAL fluid samples of 1,260 patients were analyzed. In 83 of these, PC were found. Of these 83, 47 were obtained from individuals suffering from extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA)....