Asbestos bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage.
Asbestos bodies (AB) were counted in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from 62 patients with suspected asbestos related diseases, 2 patients with known exposure to asbestos but without related disease, and 40 control subjects. BAL fluid contained AB in all patients with obvious exposure (28 of 28), including the 2 without related disease, in most patients with suspected exposure (26 of 28), as well as in 5 of 8 patients without known exposure but with suspicion of asbestos related disease (mesothelioma or pleural plaques). Among the 40 control subjects, the results in 5 were positive but to a low degree (less than 1 AB/ml of fluid). Quantitative analysis correlated with the type of disease: AB counts were higher in patients with interstitial lung disease than in those with benign (p less than 0.02) or malignant (p less than 0.01) pleural disease. Only 9 of 13 patients with mesothelioma had a positive lavage. In conclusion, the finding of AB in BAL fluid correlates with the occupational risk and can disclose unknown exposure better than a questionnaire, but a positive lavage is not a proof of disease. Quantitative differences in AB counts suggest a different pathogenesis for pleural and parenchymal disease.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001194:Asbestos / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001195:Asbestosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001980:Bronchi / Q000032:analysis / Q000473:pathology; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000295:instrumentation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000032:analysis / Q000473:pathology; D012306:Risk; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation
D001194:Asbestos