Immunogold-silver staining of cells recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage. A report of three cases demonstrating its value in the diagnosis of pulmonary involvement in hematologic malignancies.
BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of pulmonary involvement in hematologic malignancies (PHM) has traditionally necessitated large specimens (usually invasive or surgically obtained biopsies). The development of reliable immunocytologic identification techniques allows diagnosis on noninvasively obtained cellular material, including bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Since 1985, 12 such cases have been reported. CASES: Three cases of B-cell-related PHM were diagnosed by means of BAL fluid cellular analysis using the immunogold-silver staining technique. CONCLUSION: This is the first report showing immunogold-silver staining to be a reliable immunocytochemical identification technique for monoclonal B-cell populations recovered by BAL.
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