Safety of fiberoptic bronchoalveolar lavage in evaluation of interstitial lung disease.
| 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 |