Bronchoalveolar lavage and protected specimen bronchial brushing

Diagnosis of pneumonia

• Viral, bacterial, fungal, pneumonias

• Quantitative cultures for ventilator-associated pneumonias

• Infiltrates in an immunocompromised host

Evaluation of diffuse lung infiltrates and evaluation of interstitial lung disease

Suspected pulmonary hemorrhage

Suspected malignancies

Both bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and protected specimen bronchial brushing (PSB) use quantitative culture techniques to differentiate between airway colonization and true pulmonary infections.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome with hypoxemia

• May cause derecruitment in noncompliant severe air space disease

• Cardiac arrhythmias, hypoxemia, bronchospasm

Bronchopleural fistula

• May not be able to return adequate specimen for analysis