Liquid phase characteristics of bronchoalveolar lavage in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

We have previously reported that alveolitis correlates with clinical, roentgenologic, and functional parameters of pulmonary involvement in primary Sjögren's syndrome (1SS). In the present study, we analyzed the liquid phase characteristics of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in the same 19 patients with 1SS. Our results show that patients with "high alveolitis" (group A, BAL lymphocytes > 15.