Utility of reflexive gomori methenamine silver and Acid-fast bacillus staining on bronchoalveolar lavage specimens

Reflexive testing of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens with Gomori methenamine silver (GMS) and acid-fast bacillus (AFB) stains is not routinely performed by most institutions. Instead, these stains are usually ordered to evaluate for the presence of fungal elements and/or acid-fast organisms if initial histopathologic assessment suggests the presence of these pathogens. Our institution, however, performs these stains on all BAL specimens. Thus, we sought to determine whether this practice was cost effective, considering the turnaround time and diagnostic efficacy of these tests.

We retrospectively reviewed 488 BAL specimens performed at two military healthcare institutions over a 2-year period and performed a cost analysis with review of the impact on turnaround time.

Of the 488 cases, we identified only 3 (~0.6%) with infections by acid-fast or fungal organisms, at an estimated total cost of $12,151.20 and an average delay of 3.0 to 3.5 hours for slide preparation.

Our results suggest that in a largely young and healthy population such as ours, it may be more feasible to perform these stains on BAL specimens on a case-by-case basis rather than automatically on every specimen, to control costs and enhance productivity.