Interpretation of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Cytology
Interpretation of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology Contents Editor Marjolein Drent, MD, PhD Maastricht, The Netherlands Preface e-mail : m.drent@lung.azm.nl Foreword Contributors Introduction Prof. Robert Baughman, MD, PhD Cincinnati, Ohio, USA e-mail : bob.baughman@uc.edu baughman@ucmail.uc.edu History Prof. Ulrich Costabel, MD, PhD Essen, Germany e-mail: ulrich.costabel@ruhrlandklinik.de Bronchoalveolar lavage Jan A. Jacobs, MD, PhD Text with illustrations Maastricht, The Netherlands e-mail: jja@lmib.azm.nl Interactive predicting model Rob J.S. Lamers, MD, PhD Predicting program Heerlen, The Netherlands Software to evaluate BALF analysis e-mail: r.lamers@atriummc.nl Computer program using BALF Variables: a new release Paul G.H. Mulder, MSc, PhD Rotterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: mulder@epib.fgg.eur.nl Prof. Herbert Y. Reynolds, MD, PhD Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA Glossary of abbreviations e-mail: hreynolds@psu.edu Acknowledgements Prof. Sjoerd Sc. Wagenaar, MD, PhD Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: sjscw@planet.nl Interpretation of BALF cytology Preface Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) explores large areas of the alveolar compartment providing cells as well as non-cellular constituents from the lower respiratory tract. It opens a window to the lung. Alterations in BAL fluid and cells reflect pathological changes in the lung parenchyma. The BAL procedure was developed as a research tool. Meanwhile its usefulness, also for clinical applications, has been appreciated worldwide in diagnostic work-up of infectious and non-infectious interstitial lung diseases. Moreover, BAL has several advantages over biopsy procedures. It is a safe, easily performed, minimally invasive, and well tolerated procedure. In this respect, when the clinician decides that a BAL might be helpful to provide diagnostic material, it is mandatory to consider the provided information obtained from BAL fluid analysis carefully and to have reliable diagnostic criteria.
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