Bacteremia during bronchoalveolar lavage.
We prospectively evaluated the incidence of bacteremia during fiberoptic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and its relationship to postlavage symptoms in 12 volunteers. Qualitative and quantitative blood cultures were obtained before and during BAL. Three persons had qualitative blood cultures positive for organisms typical of normal skin flora. Quantitative blood cultures done simultaneously were negative. Approximately 42% of our subjects had postlavage symptoms, but no correlation was found between bacteremia and the occurrence of postlavage symptoms. Our results confirm the relative safety of BAL and the low incidence of BAL-associated bacteremia.
D000328:Adult; D003354:Corynebacterium Infections / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000209:etiology; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation / Q000009:adverse effects*