Orphanet J Rare Dis
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Orphanet J Rare Dis · Aug 2016
Whole lung lavage therapy for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: a global survey of current practices and procedures.
Whole lung lavage (WLL) is the current standard of care treatment for patients affected by pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). However, WLL is not standardized and international consensus documents are lacking. Our aim was to obtain a factual portrayal of WLL as currently practiced with respect to the procedure, indications for its use, evaluation of therapeutic benefit and complication rate. ⋯ This international survey found that WLL is safe and effective as therapy for PAP. However these results also indicate that standardization of the procedure is required; the present survey represents the a first step toward building such a document.