Chest
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Comparative Study
Flow cytometry as an alternative to microscopy for the differentiation of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid leukocytes.
Microscopy is currently the gold standard to differentiate BAL fluid (BALF) leukocytes. However, local expertise for microscopic BALF leukocyte differentiation is often unavailable in clinical practice. ⋯ We report, to our knowledge, the first validated flow cytometric method for BALF leukocyte differentiation, which can be used in clinical settings where local expertise for microscopic analysis is unavailable and which can be combined easily with lymphocyte surface marker analysis.