Bronchoalveolar lavage in pulmonary fibrosis: comparison of cells obtained with lung biopsy and clinical features

Bronchoalveolar lavage, open lung biopsy, and cell extraction from the biopsy material have been studied in 21 symptomatic patients with progressive pulmonary fibrosis (18 with cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis, fulfilling also the criteria for “usual interstitial pneumonia” (UIP), and three with rapidly progressive disease probably related to asbestos exposure). The total and differential cell counts between the three different samples have been compared as well as the influence on them of smoking and their correlation with steroid responsiveness and later progress. There was no correlation between semiquantitative scores of cell types observed within alveolar spaces and in alveolar walls and the differential or total cell counts obtained from extraction or lung lavage samples. There was, however, some correlation between differential counts obtained from lung lavage and extractions (neutrophils p