Lung India : official organ of Indian Chest Society
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Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) has gained acceptance for diagnosis of Interstitial lung disease (ILD). The advent of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) has reduced the clinical utility of BAL. This work has utilized the recommendations of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) to optimize BAL and the findings have been associated with clinical examination and HRCT to precisely narrow down the cause of ILD. ⋯ BAL along with clinical and HRCT findings improved the diagnostic accuracy by incorporating, the acute or chronic nature of the disease and the cause for acute exacerbation, which helped in the better management of ILDs.