Non-bronchoscopic protected bronchoal veolar lavage (NB-pBAL) for rapid diagnosis of fat embolism syndrome (FES) in trauma patients.

The results of our study suggest that the presence of fat droplets in more than 5% of alveolar macrophages may be present in patients with long bone fractures but is also present in patients without this type of traumatic lesion. We conclude that NB-pBAL, in contrast to fiberoptic bronchoscopic lavage (pBAL), is a specific but not sufficiently sensitive method for the diagnosis of fat embolism syndrome in critical care patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]