[Bronchoalveolar lavage in HIV patients]

Lung is the preferential target organ of diseases associated with immunodeficiency virus infection. Taking into consideration that fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FB) with collection of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) is a procedure of the highest utility for the etiological clarification of the pulmonary complications in AIDS patients, the authors carried out a review of the most frequent pathologies in this context and present the most frequent indications for FB with BAL. They also compare the results obtained in an American hospital and in two Portuguese ones.