BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE - RESULTS OF SEQUENTIAL, SELECTIVE TECHNIQUES IN VIABLE MURINES

The purpose of this study was to develop an optimal technique for perf orming sequential bronchoalveolar ravage (BAL) in a murine animal mode l. Two general anesthetic regimens and four operative techniques of BA L were tested. Anesthesia by intraperitoneal injection of ketamine hyd rochloride (100 mg/kg body wt) resulted in death for four of ten subje cts, whereas inhalation of diethyl ether led to death for one of ten s ubjects. BAL using a balloon catheter under bronchoscopic guidance was comparable with postmortal lavage, tolerated better, and resulted in superior cell retrieval with respect to cell differential (macrophages : 95 +/- 2.3; lymphocytes: 3 +/- 1.2; polymorphonuclear lymphocytes [P NL]: 1.2 +/- 1.4) compared with two other techniques using a bent meta l tube/polyethylene tubing combination (macrophages: 19.3 +/- 27.4; ly mphocytes: 3.8 +/- 4.3; PNL: 35.5 +/- 35.5) and a bronchoscope/polyeth ylene tubing combination (macrophages: 11.1 +/- 25.5; lymphocytes: 0.7 +/- 1.0; PNL: 55.8 +/- 41.0). The BAL fluid contained significantly m ore alveolar macrophages and fewer PNL and epithelial cells (p = 0.000 1, p = 0.0025, p = 0.02, respectively). We conclude that the technique using a balloon catheter under bronchoscopic guidance during inhalati on of diethyl ether is the procedure of choice and results in a repres entative sample of BAL.