Bronchoalveolar lavage differential cell count on prognostic assessment of patients with stable or acute interstitial lung disease: A retrospective real-life study.

BAL cell differential counts of 133 therapy naive ILD patients and 43 patients during acute exacerbation of ILD (AE-ILD) were retrospectively evaluated. In the 20 patients who underwent BAL both at baseline and during an AE-ILD, there was an increase in neutrophils but a decrease in macrophages and eosinophils in the BAL obtained during AE-ILD. A detectable number of basophils at the baseline was a novel risk factor for earlier death and the occurrence of AE-ILD. Total BAL cell count >160 × 10/L during AE-ILD was correlated with a more favorable prognosis. BAL cell counts <20% of lymphocytes or > 20% of neutrophils during AE-ILD were associated with shorter survival. AE-ILD exerted significant changes in BAL cell profiles in individual patients. Several BAL-parameters correlated with survival of ILD patients; of these, baseline basophils and total cell count during AE-ILD were novel prognostic markers.