Comparison of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid recovered during bronchoscopy with local or general anesthesia

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a diagnostic technique through which information is obtained about conditions in peripheral parts of the bronchoalveolar tree. To determine the impact of general anesthesia on BAL fluid composition, nine patients underwent BAL while under general anesthesia and 16 healthy controls had BAL with local anesthesia. The percentage of recovered fluid and total cell counts were significantly lower in patients under general anesthesia than in controls. The number of viable cells, the proportions of the various cells, and the BAL albumin-serum albumin ratio did not differ between the groups. Thus, general anesthesia with controlled ventilation, as performed in this study, apparently does not seriously after the prerequisites for BAL.