title: Diagnosis for interstitial lung disease in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): a prospective comparison of bronchial washing, alveolar lavage, transbronchial lung biopsy, and open-lung biopsy.
abstract: This study was undertaken to compare prospectively the diagnostic yield of the various bronchoscopic techniques with that of open-lung biopsy for interstitial lung disease in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Under general anesthesia, 15 patients sequentially underwent bronchial washing, transbronchial lung biopsy, alveolar lavage, and open-lung biopsy in the same segment of lung. Of nine patients with Pneumocystis carinii, seven were diagnosed by means of the transbronchial lung biopsy, eight by the open-lung biopsy, and all nine by alveolar lavage. Of the six patients with cytomegalovirus, five were diagnosed by the open-lung biopsy, five by the transbronchial lung biopsy, and three by alveolar lavage. The sensitivities of the procedures for identifying infection were washings (15%), transbronchial lung biopsy (50%), alveolar lavage (73%), and open-lung biopsy (88%). Combined, transbronchial lung biopsy and alveolar lavage showed a diagnostic yield (85%) for infections comparable to that of open-lung biopsy (88%), thereby obviating the need for open-lung biopsy for such diagnoses. However, open-lung biopsy was the only procedure that diagnosed Kaposi's sarcoma in lung.
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000473:pathology*; D001706:Biopsy; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000473:pathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000473:pathology; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000473:pathology*; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000473:pathology; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation