Bronchoalveolar Lavage

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) represents not only a safe diagnostic method, but also has remarkable research potential to investigate prognostic and pathogenetic markers. In the complex field of interstitial lung diseases, including those caused by infections, BAL has become a crucial diagnostic tool. There are several unambiguous findings, for example in alveolar proteinosis, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, diffuse alveolar haemorrhage, diffuse malignancies or dust exposure, where BAL can replace lung biopsy. In other diseases, BAL allows the range of the differential diagnosis to be narrowed or to exclude certain diseases.