Flow cytometry useful alternative to microscopy for differentiation of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid leukocytes: Study

Written By : Dr. Shravani Dali |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2024-04-23T21:45:42+05:30 | Updated On 24 April 2024 2:14 PM IST

Flow cytometry useful alternative to microscopy for differentiation of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid leukocytes suggests a study published in the Chest.

Microscopy is currently the gold standard to differentiate BAL fluid (BALF) leukocytes. However, local expertise for microscopic BALF leukocyte differentiation is often unavailable in clinical practice. A new automated flow cytometric method for BALF leukocyte differentiation, using four antibodies (anti-CD45, anti-CD66b, anti-HLA-DR, anti-CD52) given to human BALF in one tube, was developed and prospectively validated in 745 unselected, subsequent BALF samples from patients with interstitial lung diseases (455 patients), infectious diseases (196 patients), and other diseases (94 patients). Flow cytometry and traditional microscopy were performed by separate investigators in a double-blind fashion. Results were compared using Spearman`s correlation, Deming regression, and Bland-Altman analysis.

Results: There was a strong correlation between flow cytometric and microscopic results regarding macrophage/monocyte, lymphocyte, eosinophil, and neutrophil percentages in BALF (P < .001 for all leukocyte subpopulations). Bland-Altman analyses showed that the mean differences between the methods were ≤2% for all four cell types. Flow cytometric results differed less than 20% from microscopic results in more than 95% of all samples. Subgroup analyses confirmed that these results were independent from total leukocyte counts in BALF. They report the first validated flow cytometric method for BALF leukocyte differentiation, which can be used in clinical settings where local expertise for microscopic analysis is unavailable and which can be combined easily with lymphocyte surface marker analysis.

Reference:

Bratke K, Weise M, Stoll P, Virchow JC, Lommatzsch M. Flow Cytometry as an Alternative to Microscopy for the Differentiation of BAL Fluid Leukocytes. Chest. 2024 Mar 26:S0012-3692(24)00426-4. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2024.03.037. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38548099.

Flow cytometryalternativemicroscopydifferentiationbronchoalveolarlavage fluid leukocytesStudy

Source : CHEST

Dr. Shravani Dali

Dr. Shravani Dali has completed her BDS from Pravara institute of medical sciences, loni. Following which she extensively worked in the healthcare sector for 2+ years. She has been actively involved in writing blogs in field of health and wellness. Currently she is pursuing her Masters of public health-health administration from Tata institute of social sciences. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751