TY - JOUR T1 - The repeatability of nonbronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage differential cell counts JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 1009 LP - 1012 DO - 10.1183/09031936.01.00203101 VL - 18 IS - 6 AU - T.J. Warke AU - S. Kamath AU - P.S. Fitch AU - V. Brown AU - M.D. Shields AU - M. Ennis Y1 - 2001/12/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/18/6/1009.abstract N2 - Airway inflammation in children can be assessed by nonbronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Little is known about the repeatability of cell counts in the BAL obtained. Children (n=43) attending for elective surgery were studied. Cell counts were obtained following a nonbronchoscopic lavage. Two samples were obtained with either: 1) the catheter wedged in the same position (n=21) or 2) the catheter reinserted and wedged again (n=22). Slides (n=30) from nonbronchoscopic lavage samples were selected at random and two independent observers counted 500 cells on each slide on two occasions. The repeatability of the lavage sampling and cell counting was assessed for different cell types. The inter- and intra-observer repeatability for the differential cell counting demonstrated that there was good repeatability for all cell types except lymphocytes (interobserver: Lin's concordance coefficient 0.42; repeatability coefficient 0.66). Quantification of eosinophil (%) was highly repeatable using either method (Lin's concordance coefficient 1) 0.99, 2) 0.95; repeatability coefficient 1) 0.58, 2) 1.36). Nonbronchoscopic lavage is a repeatable technique for the quantification of eosinophils. Variation in the sampling method can be reduced by taking two separate samples and averaging the differential cell counts. Furthermore, increasing the number of cells counted should ensure accurate quantification of lymphocytes. The study was supported by the following funding sources: Research and Development Office for Northern Ireland; Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children; National Asthma Campaign, UK. ER -