Abstract
Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) yield is believed to represent alveolar cell population. However, many factors may limit its value. In order to evaluate the technique of BAL, we did bronchoalveolar lavage in 11 anesthetized mongrel dogs under different conditions. All dogs served for 3 experiments, with 2 lobes lavaged at each session. The left lower lobe (LLL) was washed twice when air-filled and once when oxygen-filled. The right middle lobe (RML) was lavaged twice air-filled and once when atelectatic. Atelectasis was induced by wedging the RML bronchus after 10 min 100% O2 breathing. In air-filled lobes, more cells were recovered from the LLL than from the RML (24.9 × 106 vs. 15.4 × 106,P<0.01). Relavage, after a minimum of 3 weeks, did not alter the number of cells recovered nor cell differentials. Breathing 100% O2 did not change total and differential cell count while atelectasis gave more cells than the air-filled conditions (29.5 × 106 vs. 15.0 × 106,P<0.01). The differential cell counts remained similar. Results for the albumin concentrations (mg/100 ml) were similar to those of total cells. This study shows that, in the dog, the lung region lavaged does influence the final cell yield; however, relavage, after 3 weeks gives similar results for a given region; finally, atelectasis increases BAL cellularity, which suggests that standard BAL may not sample the deepest alveoli.
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Carré, P., Laviolette, M., Bélanger, J. et al. Technical variations of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL): Influence of atelectasis and the lung region lavaged. Lung 163, 117–125 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02713813
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02713813