• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.82 no.1
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• pp.86-87
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• 2019

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2443-2446
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• 2013

Published data have shown that the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and soluble VEGF receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1) in plasma and pleural effusion might be usefulness for lung cancer diagnosis. Here, we performed a prospective study to investigate the utility of VEGF and sVEGFR-1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer. A total of 56 patients with solitary pulmonary massed by chest radiograph or CT screening were enrolled in this study. BALF and plasma samples were obtained from all patients and analyzed for VEGF and sVEGFR-1 using a commercially available sandwich ELISA kit. The results showed that the levels of VEGF in BALF were significantly higher in patients with a malignant pulmonary mass compared with patients with a benign mass (P < 0.001). However, no significant difference of sVEGFR-1 in BALF was found between malignant and non-malignant groups (P = 0.43). With a cut-off value of 214 pg/ml, VEGF showed a sensitivity and specificity of 81.8% and 84.2%, respectively, in predicting the malignant nature of a solitary pulmonary mass. Our study suggests that VEGF is significantly increased in BALF among patients with lung cancer than in benign diseases. Measurement of VEGF in BALF might be helpful for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.72 no.2
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• pp.177-181
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• 2012

Activated charcoal is an inert substance and it is used in standard therapy in patients with acute intoxication. Charcoal has some side effects such as pulmonary aspiration, gastrointestinal complications, and electrolyte abnormalities. Although aspiration of charcoal is a rare complication, it can cause fatal sequelae. We report a 69-year old man who developed acute respiratory failure associated with charcoal aspiration after management of glyphosate poisoning. The patient was drowsy and suffered severe vomiting during transport to our hospital. On arrival, acute respiratory failure was observed due to charcoal aspiration, but the clinical state was improved with repeated bronchoscopy with a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). We presumed that the aspirated charcoal was an important factor in evoking a lung injury. Early bronchoscopy with a BAL might be an effective method for eliminating charcoal from the lung, especially in the case of a large amount of aspiration, and be helpful in decreasing respiratory failure due to charcoal aspiration.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.111-116
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• 2014

Human neutrophils play an essential role in the innate immune response and are involved in the pathogenesis of the severe and corticosteroid-resistant asthma. Asthma is characterized by an infiltration of inflammatory cells into the lung and by a cytokine release. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of a bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) on the chemotaxis and apoptosis of neutrophils which were isolated from healthy subjects. The BALF of subjects with asthma induces the blood neutrophil chemotaxis in the opposite of that in normal subjects. The IL-8, IL-6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels in BALF were higher in subjects with asthma than in normal subjects. The BALF of normal and asthmatic subjects has no effect on neutrophil apoptosis of BALF. MCP-1 delays the constitutive apoptosis of normal blood neutrophils, but has no effect in normal BALF neutrophils. These results may indicate that inflammatory factors secreted by the lung tissue of patients with asthma trigger the neutrophil chemotaxis and also induce the neutrophil dysregulation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.71 no.5
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• pp.322-327
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• 2011

Background: Pneumocystis jirovecii is a fungus that has become an important cause of opportunistic infections. We present a summary of the clinical status and findings from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of patients with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP). Methods: We selected 30 cases of PJP that were proven through a surgical specimen evaluation. BAL fluid cytology was reviewed, and agreement with the initial diagnosis was evaluated. Results: All 30 cases of PJP occurred in immunocompromised patients. Only 15 of the 30 cases were initially diagnosed as PJP. We found PJP in 13 of the 15 cases that were negative at the initial diagnosis. The most characteristic finding of PJP was frothy exudates, and BAL fluid tended to show rare neutrophils. Two of seven patients with PJP and diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) revealed no frothy exudates in BAL fluid. Conclusion: BAL fluid cytology was reconfirmed as a sensitive and rapid method to diagnose PJP. We must be aware of the possibility of PJP to maintain high diagnostic sensitivity. We cannot exclude PJP in cases of PJP with DAD, even if frothy exudates are not observed in the BAL fluid.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.82-88
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• 1999

Herpes simplex virus pneumonia in immunocompromised host is difficult to diagnose with non-invasive method, and has high mortality rate. Because early diagnosis and early treatment can significantly decrease the mortality rate, the enthusiastic efforts for the early diagnosis should be done. A 41-year-old woman who took prednisolone due to mixed connective tissue disease developed gradually increasing dyspnea with radiological features of interstitial lung disease. Initially, we treated her with empirical antibiotics, but failed to improve her dyspnea. So we performed bronchoalveolar lavage and open lung biopsy. Open lung biopsy specimen showed herpes simplex virus pneumonia. Herpes simplex virus was also isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. There was both clinical and radiological improvement after treatment with acyclovir for 14 days.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.194-197
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• 2012

Three dogs were presented with a history of dyspnea and cough. Physical examination, blood analysis, bronchoalveolar lavage and radiography of three dogs were evaluated. And additionally, computed tomography and lung biopsy were performed on one dog. They showed normal laboratory examination results. The radiographic findings noted alveolar and bronchointerstitial infiltration with bronchiectasis. For one dog, nodules scattered throughout both lung fields on survey radiographs were confused with pulmonary neoplasia, so CT scan was used to rule out neoplasia. Bronchoalveolar lavage revealed abnormally high levels of eosinophils in all dogs. On histopatholgic exam, eosinophilic bronchiolitis and eosinophilic and histiocytic alveolitis were confirmed. Consequently, all dogs were diagnosed as eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy. Symptoms regressed dramtically within a few days after treatment with oral corticosteroids. Radiographs and CT scan are useful for diagnosis and prognosis of eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.67 no.5
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• pp.402-408
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• 2009

Background: Pre-B-cell colony enhancing factor (PBEF) has been suggested as a novel biomarker in sepsis and acute lung injury. We measured the PBEF in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of acute critically ill patients with lung infiltrates in order to evaluate the clinical utility of measuring PBEF in BAL fluid. Methods: BAL fluid was collected by bronchoscope from 185 adult patients with lung infiltrates. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was then performed on the collected fluids to measure the PBEF. Results: Mean patient age was 59.9 ${\pm}$14.5 years and 63.8% of patients were males. The mean concentration of PBEF in BAL fluid was 17.5 ${\pm}$88.3 ng/mL, and patients with more than 9 ng/mL of PBEF concentration (n=26, 14.1%) had higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores on the BAL exam day. However, there were no significant differences in clinical characteristics between survivors and non-survivors. In patients with leukocytosis (n=93) seen on the BAL exam day, the linear regression analysis revealed a significant, positive relationship between PBEF and APACHE II ($r^2$=0.06), SOFA score ($r^2$=0.08), Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score ($r^2$=0.05), and plateau pressure in patients on ventilators ($r^2$=0.07) (p<0.05, respectively). In addition, multivariate regression analysis with PBEF as a dependent variable showed that the plateau pressure ($r^2$=0.177, p<0.05) was correlated positively with PBEF. Conclusion: The PBEF level in the BAL fluid may be a useful, new biomarker for predicting the severity of illness and ventilator-induced lung injury in critically ill patients with lung infiltates and leukocytosis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.224-234
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• 2012

Objectives: To assess the hazard of Korea chrysotile and anthophylite, fibers were analyzed for their physicochemical properties by transmission electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (TEM-EDS). Methods: To evaluate the biopersistence of 2 domestic asbestos, Sprague-Dawely rats were exposed to 2 mg asbestos by intratracheal instillation. Each asbestos (chrysotile ; $8,814,244{\times}10^6$ fibers/mg, average size $0.08{\mu}m{\times}4.39{\mu}m$, anthophyllite ; $5,182{\times}10^6$ fibers/mg, average size $0.95{\mu}m{\times}7.29{\mu}m$) were evaluated after a single intratracheal instillation. At times from 1 week to 4 weeks after exposure, the numbers of asbestos fivers in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and in the lung were calculated. Results: Anthophyllite fivers continuously have retained for 4 weeks but chrysotile fivers were rarely found at 4 weeks after exposure in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Chrysotile fivers at 4 weeks after treatment were not observed but anthophyllite was easily observed in the lung with phase contrast microscopy. According to electron microscopic observation of asbestos in the lung, within 1 week after the administration of chrysotile fivers were decreased rapidly but anthophyllite fivers were very little change for 4 weeks. When chrysotile fivers have been lost Fe in 1 week, there were no significant changes in anthophyllite fivers in the lung. Conclusions: These findings indicate that after a long time exposure to chrysotile, asbestos bodies can not be found in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.492-497
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• 2021

Levels of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), an intercellular signaling molecule, reportedly increase in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of patients with asthma. Although the type 4 S1P receptor, S1P₄ has been detected in mast cells, its functions have been poorly investigated in an allergic asthma model in vivo. S1P₄ functions were evaluated following treatment of CYM50358, a selective antagonist of S1P₄, in an ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma model, and antigen-induced degranulation of mast cells. CYM50358 inhibited antigen-induced degranulation in RBL-2H3 mast cells. Eosinophil accumulation and an increase of Th2 cytokine levels were measured in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and via the inflammation of the lungs in ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma mice. CYM50358 administration before ovalbumin sensitization and before the antigen challenge strongly inhibited the increase of eosinophils and lymphocytes in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. CYM50358 administration inhibited the increase of IL-4 cytokines and serum IgE levels. Histological studies revealed that CYM50358 reduced inflammatory scores and PAS (periodic acid-Schiff)-stained cells in the lungs. The pro-allergic functions of S1P₄ were elucidated using in vitro mast cells and in vivo ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma model experiments. These results suggest that S1P₄ antagonist CYM50358 may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of allergic asthma.