Site of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Via Flexible Bronchoscopy and Fluid Return in Children

Background: Despite its widespread use as a diagnostic tool, the procedure for bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) via flexible bronchoscopy is not standardized in children. Our objective was to examine the dissimilarities in fluid return between the different lobes in children undergoing flexible bronchoscopies with BAL. Methods: We conducted a review of all pediatric flexible bronchoscopies with BAL conducted at a single institution over a 2-year period. Our predictor of interest was the site of the BAL. Our outcome of interest was the percent of fluid return. We used 1-way analysis of variance with subsequent pairwise comparisons for unadjusted analyses and multivariable linear regression for adjusted analyses. Results: We identified 529 procedures that met prespecified criteria. The mean (SD) percent of fluid return was 52.1 (14.4) for the right middle lobe, 50.7 (16.0) for the lingula (LIN), 50.5 (18.6) for the right or left upper lobes other than LIN (R/L-UL), and 42.2 (18.7) for the right or left lower lobes (R/L-LL). The R/L-LL had significantly lower fluid return when compared with each of the other lobes (P
Source: Journal of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology - Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: Original Investigations Source Type: research