Total and differential cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid
| Asthmatics | Normals | |
| Total cells | 77.2 (36.6–467.0) | 61.8 (12–212) |
| Macrophages | 49.6 (5.3–53.4) | 33.0 (6.4–66.6) |
| Lymphocytes | 8.0 (1.6–26.6) | 9.0 (0.6–28.8) |
| Neutrophils | 3.6 (0.7–25.9) | 3.0 (0.4–11.5) |
| Eosinophils | 1.8 (0.9–3.2)*** | 0.2 (0–2.0) |
| Epithelial cells | 12 (8.5–43) | 6.7 (0.4–10) |
Cell counts are expressed as median (range)
Cell counts are ×103·mL−1
***: p<0.001