Value of bronchoalveolar lavage and findings of cytologic studies in the diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases

In 27 patients with roentgenologically suspected interstitial pulmonary disease, bronchoscopy was carried out with the rigid bronchoscope. The examination material obtained (BAL fluid, transbronchial lung biopsy, perbronchial lymph node biopsy, mucosal biopsy) was submitted to a histological and cytological work-up. The established cell distribution in the BAL fluid confirmed the findings reported in the literature. In sarcoidosis, irrespective of the roentgenological stage, a 30 to 35% lymphocytosis was observed. The combination of BAL, perbronchial lymph node biopsy, transbronchial lung biopsy and bronchial mucosal biopsy permitted confirmation of the sarcoidosis in more than 90% of the cases. The -hit rate- of the perbronchial lymph node biopsy was 90.6% in stage 1, 85% in stage 2, and 77% in stage 3.