Seventy five patients with pulmonary disease and suspected acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) underwent fibreoptic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage. Of 54 cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, 53 (98%) were diagnosed by bronchoalveolar lavage. Complications were recorded in 12 instances and included pneumothorax in two and transient increase in fever and hypoxaemia in the rem...

Background Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) has a stable place in the diagnostics of various forms of the diffuse parenchymal lung disease. The analysis of cellular components of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) informs us about inflammatory and immune processes in the alveolar space. This can be very helpful in the diagnostics of many interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), but also in the diagn...

AIMS For the diagnosis of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis from bronchoalveolar lavage specimens it is normally necessary to make an ultrastructural examination. However, this is thought to be impractical for bronchoalveolar lavage specimens that have been routinely fixed in ethanol. In the present study, bronchoalveolar lavage cytology smears on slide glasses were examined directly ultrastructur...

From January 1982 to April 1987 , 1500 cases of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) were performed. Among these cases, 37 were suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis but their sputum examination was either negative or they were not able to expectorate. In all these cases pulmonary TB was confirmed either by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid examination or by biopsy. We conclude that FOB is ...

Cell counting of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid is performed manually in routine practice. This has both methodological and inherent errors; however, the accuracy and suitability of automated counting devices have been questioned. In this study, a Coulter Counter D Industrial model was calibrated and then used to measure the total cell count in unprocessed bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and ...

BACKGROUND HIV is present in bronchoalveolar lavage cells of some but not all HIV seropositive patients. Abnormalities of lung function have been described in such patients in the absence of clinically overt pneumonia or other respiratory infections. It is possible that the presence of HIV in alveolar macrophages could account for these abnormalities. It is also possible that the presence of HI...

BACKGROUND Cytologic examination of specimens obtained from the respiratory tract is a lung cancer diagnostic procedure with high specificity but moderate sensitivity. The use of molecular biomarkers may enhance the sensitivity of cytologic examination in the detection of lung cancer. METHODS Complement factor H, a protein secreted by lung cancer cells, was quantified in a series of bronchoal...

BACKGROUND Multiple sensory neuropeptides are present in human airways and may contribute to diseases such as asthma. This study quantified and characterised substance P (SP), neurokinin A (NKA), and calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactivity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in asthmatic and normal subjects. METHODS Using specific radioimmunoassay (RIA), SP, NKA and CGRP were meas...