EFFECT OF CHANGING INSTILLED VOLUME FOR BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE IN PATIENTS WITH INTERSTITIAL LUNG-DISEASE

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Patients with and withut interstitial lung disease (ILD) underwent bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) with 4 boluses of 60 ml of normal saline. Fluid was withdrawn after each bolus, and the results after the 1st and 2nd bolus were pooled and compared with the results after the 3rd and 4th bolus. In the control group (n = 9), there ws a significantly higher percentage of lymphocytes and neutrophils after the 1st half than after the 2nd half (1st half: lymphocytes, 8 .+-. 1.9%, mean .+-. SEM [standard error of the mean]; neutrophils, 2 .+-. 1.2%. Second half: lymphocytes, 5 .+-. 1.2% (P < 0.01); neutrophils, 0.3 .+-. 0.12% (P < 0.05). In the ILD group (n = 8), there was a rise in the number of lymphocytes from 15 .+-. 4.9% to 20 .+-. 3.9% (P < 0.05) and the number of neutrophils from 8 .+-. 4.8% to 10 .+-. 5.6%. The ILD group had more cells aspirated after the 2nd half than after the 1st half of the BAL, whereas the control group did not. Abnormalities in the cell population of the BAL fluid were more striking when the larger volume was used.