[Local cellular protection in patients with various forms of pulmonary tuberculosis]

To study the cellular component of local immune defence, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was examined in 69 patients: 24 children and adolescents with primary tuberculosis and 45 patients with secondary patterns of tuberculosis complicated by catarrhal and purulent endobronchitis. With no appreciable lesions in the bronchial mucosa the cellular composition of BALF and functions of alveolar macrophages (AM) in patients with primary tuberculosis are determined by the phase of specific process. In secondary tuberculosis associated with endobronchitis, the cellular composition of BALF is mainly determined by the character of bronchial pathology whereas AM function by the patterns of both specific and nonspecific processes.