title: Diagnostic value of bronchoalveolar lavage in patients with opportunistic and nonopportunistic bacterial pneumonia.
abstract: In 29 patients with community-acquired pneumonia, 24 patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia and 35 patients with pneumonia in the immunocompromised host the diagnostic value of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) with quantitative bacterial and fungal cultures was studied; 32 patients with noninfectious pulmonary diseases and 14 healthy volunteers served as controls. An infectious etiology could be established in 81% of the pneumonia patients without differences between the three groups; significant infection was associated with colony counts of > or = 10(4) cfu/ml. Prior antibiotic therapy lowered the yield of BAL culture only in community-acquired pneumonia (94% vs 55% positive cultures in untreated vs pretreated patients, p < 0.02). Furthermore the culture results were related to the radiographic extension of pulmonary infiltrates (92% positive cultures in multilobar vs 54% in lobar or segmental infiltrates, p < 0.001). Therapeutic consequences of BAL were shown by resistance of the isolated organisms to predefined empiric treatment regimens in 41% community-acquired pneumonia, 43% pneumonia in the immunocompromised host and 67% hospital-acquired pneumonia patients.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Innere Medizin, Medizinischen Universität Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dalhoff
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hollandt
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lipp
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Wiessmann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marre
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents