Potdar, P VJain, KPrabhakaran, LKamat, S R1989-07-012009-05-301989-07-012009-05-301989-07-01Potdar PV, Jain K, Prabhakaran L, Kamat SR. Value of bronchoalveolar lavage in interstitial lung diseases. Journal of the Association of Physicians of India. 1989 Jul; 37(7): 444-7http://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/8912021 references.Fifty-eight patients of interstitial lung diseases and 30 control patients were submitted to bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) with flexible fibreoptic bronchoscopy. In 30 controls (with fluid recovery 61.7%) total cell count was 175 +/- 31/mm3 with macrophages 87.5 +/- 2.0%, neutrophils 7 +/- 1.9 and lymphocytes 5 +/- 0.6%. In idiopathic interstitial fibrosis (34 cases) these values were respectively 832 +/- 221/mm3, 47 +/- 5.5, 29 +/- 5.0 and 19 +/- 5 percent (significantly different P: less than 0.005, 0.001, 0.1 and 0.005 respectively from control. The results of bilateral lavages in 28 interstitial cases were similar. In other categories viz: sarcoidosis(8), macrophages were significantly fewer (61 +/- 10%: P less than 0.05) and lymphocytes significantly more (27 +/- 6.4%: P less than 0.05); in rheumatoid lung disease (4 cases) significantly fewer macrophages (45 +/- 5) were seen and 12 cases with methyl isocyanate exposure showed insignificant changes.engAdultBronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid --pathologyBronchoscopyDiagnosis, DifferentialHumansLeukocytes, Mononuclear --pathologyLung Diseases, Obstructive --pathologyLung Neoplasms --pathologyMiddle AgedNeutrophils --pathologyPulmonary Fibrosis --pathologyJournal Article