Onkológia 4/2007

The role of bronchoalveolar lavage in the diagnosis of alveolar pneumopathy in pediatric onkology

Pulmonary complications and infiltrates of various aetiology are the most frequent and urgent clinical problem in pediatric cancer patients. Bronchoalveolar lavage is a routine method in adult population, on the other hand the explicit recommendations for indication and methodology of bronchoalveolar lavage in childhood does not exist. Only limited literature informations exist about BAL in children, usualy designed as retrospective studies. Therefore selection criteria and methodology of bronchoalveolar lavage depending on age are need to be established, as well as standardised methods of bronchoalveolar fluid analysis. exact and correct interpretation of results is crucial.

Keywords: pediatric oncology, pulmonary infiltrates, bronchoalveolar lavage, indications, methodology, evaluation.