BAL Constituents
BAL total cell count, % eosinophils and % neutrophils were not significantly different among the VHI % sub-groups (Table II). However categorical granulocyte patterns did vary significantly. The proportion of children with pauci-granulocytic BAL was lower, 17%, in upper 75th %ile VHI % than it was in the the 25th-75th %ile (67%) and the 25th %ile (75%, p = .04).
In 13 children who underwent paired image-directed BALs, eosinophil counts/100 cells (Figure 3) were significantly higher (p = .04) in BAL from bronchial segments in lung regions with visible ventilation defects (7 ± 9 %) compared to regions without visible ventilation defects (3 ± 2 %). There was no difference in the percentage of BAL macrophages, lymphocytes, or neutrophils between lobes with and without ventilation defects. There were no significant differences among VHI % sub-groups in the presence of pathogenic bacteria or viruses (Table II, and E- Supplement, results).