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Published on: March 24, 2014
Therapeutic Whole-Lung Lavage for Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis: A Procedural Update
Basem B Abdelmalak1, Ashish K Khanna, Daniel A Culver
1Departments of *General Anesthesiology and Outcomes Research †Critical Care Anesthesiology, Anesthesiology Institute ‡Respiratory Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
Abstract:
Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis is a disease caused by increased accumulation and impaired clearance of surfactant by alveolar macrophages. This narrative review summarizes the role of therapeutic whole-lung lavage in the management of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. We describe the preprocedural evaluation, indications, and anesthetic considerations, along with step-by step technical aspects of the procedure, postoperative recovery, potential complications, and long-term outcomes.
