Abstract
Introduction: Infectious and non-infectious pulmonary complications are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in non-HIV immunocompromised patients. Lung infiltrates in this group of patients includes an extensive list of possible causes. An etiological diagnosis obtained as soon as possible is essential to guide a specific therapy.
Aims and objectives: Evaluate the usefulness of BAL in non-HIV patients with lung infiltrates to determine etiology and changes in therapeutic decisions.
Methods: we prospectively included all those non-HIV immunocompromised patients with lung infiltrates who were evaluated by the Pulmonary Division to perform a BAL. The attending physicians were responsible for the diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.
Results: 57 patients were included and in 38 (66.7%) an etiological diagnosis was found (table 1). In 40 patients (70%) BAL resulted in a change of therapeutic decisions. There was a greater change of decisions when BAL was performed during the first 12 hours of initiation of empirical antibiotic therapy (p = 0.03)
Table 1
Conclusions: BAL was useful for changing therapeutic decisions, especially when it was performed in the first 12 hours of treatment.
- © 2014 ERS
