BACKGROUND Gastro-oesophageal reflux is common in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and is thought to be associated with pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents. The measurement of pepsin in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid has recently been suggested to be a reliable indicator of aspiration. The prevalence of pulmonary aspiration in a group of children with CF was assessed and its associat...

Azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus is increasingly reported. Here, we describe the validation of the AsperGenius, a new multiplex real-time PCR assay consisting of two multiplex real-time PCRs, one that identifies the clinically relevant Aspergillus species, and one that detects the TR34, L98H, T289A, and Y121F mutations in CYP51A and differentiates susceptible from resistant A. fumigatu...

A 38-year-old man was hospitalized in our university hospital because of pulmonary opacities with bilateral hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy seen on chest radiograph. Eosinophilia was observed in the circulation and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Histological examination revealed noncaseating epithelioid granulomas and eosinophilic infiltration in the lung. Based on these findings, a ...

BACKGROUND Markers of ventilator associated pneumonia are of interest for confirming the diagnosis and for guiding the initial management of this frequent complication of mechanical ventilation. The detection of intracellular organisms in the polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNLs) and/or macrophages of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid has been suggested as a specific test for the early indicati...

Two cases of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis were treated with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) via a fibreoptic bronchoscope. Additional clinical improvement was seen when trypsin was added to the lavage fluid. Analysis of effluents in the BAL fluid showed marked reduction of protein constituents with clinical improvement after treatment with trypsin in the lavage. BAL with trypsin was well tolerated.

Background and Purpose: Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is one of the most common life-threatening fungal infections among the critically ill patients including intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Delayed diagnosis and therapy may lead to poor outcomes. Diagnosis may be facilitated by a test for molecular biomarkers, i.e. detection of galactomannan (GM) antigen based on enzyme immunoassay, which is...

Bombesin-like peptides (BLP) produced by pulmonary neuroendocrine cells have many physiological actions which are relevant to the pathobiology of cigarette smoking. The objectives of this study were to determine whether cigarette smokers excrete increased levels of BLP in their urine compared with nonsmokers, to determine the relationship between BLP levels in urine and bronchoalveolar lavage (...

PURPOSE To assess, in lung cancer patients, the effects of thoracic radiotherapy (RT) on the concentrations of transforming growth factor-beta(1) (TGF-beta(1)) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. METHODS AND MATERIALS Eleven patients with lung cancer requiring RT as part of their treatment were studied. BAL was performed bilaterally before, during, and 1, 3, an...

This study sought to test the hypothesis that normal children exposed to parental cigarette smoke have increased bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM)-1. Cells and solutes from the lower airway of normal children were obtained by nonbronchoscopic BAL using three aliquots of 1 mL x kg body weight(-1) normal saline, prior to elective orthopae...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine whether relative qualitative and quantitative differences in protein expression could be related to smoke exposure or smoke-induced airway inflammation. We therefore explored and characterized the protein components found in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid sampled from either lifelong smokers or never-smokers. METHODS BAL fluid samples obta...