Abstract
Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was studied in terms of the correlation between disease activity and changes on chest X-ray in 21 patients with sarcoidosis.
1) Lymphocytes, total protein, IgG, IgA, IgM, ACE and β2-microglobulin in BALF were significantly elevated in active cases compared with inactive cases.
2) Lymphocytes, IgG, IgA, IgM, ACE and β2-microglobulin in BALF were significantly decreased in improved sarcoid patients on chest X-ray, but were not significantly decreased in unchanged cases.
3) The levels of complement, fibrinogen and immuno complex in BALF of sarcoidosis patients were low in quantity, therefore they were not useful.
These results suggest that in sarcoidosis patients BALF studies reflect the disease activity.
