Publication Type	Academic Article
Authors	Strumpf I, Feld M, Cornelius M, Keogh B, Crystal R
Journal	Chest
Volume	80
Issue	3
Pagination	268-71
Date Published	09/01/1981
ISSN	0012-3692
Keywords	Bronchi, Pulmonary Alveoli, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Therapeutic Irrigation
Abstract	Over a three-year period, 281 fiberoptic bronchoalveolar lavage procedures were performed on 119 individuals with interstitial lung disease and 22 normal volunteers. There were no major complications. Less than 5 percent of the procedures were associated with minor complications including (2.5 percent), pneumonitis (0.4 percent), bleeding (0.7 percent) and bronchospasm (0.7 percent); none of these complications required therapy. Those individuals developing complications had a wide range of physiologic findings; functional tests could not predict which subjects were more likely to develop minor complications associated with lavage. These findings suggest that bronchoalveolar lavage for interstitial disease is a safe procedure associated with minor risks.
DOI	10.1378/chest.80.3.268
PubMed ID	6974085