Use of a modified stomach tube for bronchoalveolar lavage in dogs

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a technique for collecting cells and compou nds from the small airways and alveoli that has proved valuable in research and clinical settings in human and veterinary medicine. Retrieved fluid ca n be representative of disease processes that have developed in these porti ons of the lung and, in some diseases, the interstitium.(1-5) Routine analy sis of BAL fluid includes cytologic evaluation and bacterial culture. Howev er, sufficiently large volumes of fluid are collected to allow other assays to be performed, such as fungal and mycoplasmal culture, measurement of lo cal antibody and cytokine production, antigen testing or polymerase chain r eaction assays for specific pathogens, biochemical analysis for indicators of cell damage, and assays of macrophage function. The technique is relativ ely safe, and resultant transient hypoxemia is responsive to supplemental o xygen.(1,4 6-9) Bronchoalveolar lavage is generally performed through a flexible bronchosco pe. The requirement for specialized endoscopic equipment prevents the perfo rmance of BAL in many veterinary practices. It also adds to the expense of the procedure. Although use of a bronchoscope allows for sample collection from specific lung lobes, many pulmonary diseases in dogs are diffuse or mu ltifocal in distribution. The authors have developed a safe and successful method for nonbronchoscopic BAL in cats.(6,10,11) We describe here a method that will enable clinicians to successfully perform BAL in dogs without us e of a bronchoscope.