A bioartificial liver (BAL) will bridge patients with acute liver failure (ALF) to either spontaneous regeneration or liver transplantation. The nitrogen metabolism is important in ALF, and the metabolism of nonparenchymal liver cells (NPCs) is poorly understood. The scope of this study was to investigate whether cocultivation of hepatocytes with NPCs would augment the functions of a BAL (HN-BA...

OBJECTIVE To compare quantitative Bronchoscopic Bronchoalveolar Lavage (B-BAL) cultures with blind nasogastric tube bronchoalveolar lavage (N-BAL) cultures in the diagnosis of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP). STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional comparative study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY The study was conducted in Medical ICU and Chest ICU at Liaquat National Hospital (LNH), Karachi, from...

AIMS Our overall objective was to examine whether characteristics of epithelial lining fluid (ELF) from subjects with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) obtained via bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) contribute to their predisposition to pneumococcal pneumonia. We sought to compare the anti-pneumococcal activity of acellular human BAL from subjects with AUDs to matched controls. Further, differences in BA...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prognostic value of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cellular profiles in patients with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). METHODS BAL cellularity was examined in relation to mortality (n = 141), serial pulmonary function findings (n = 134), and "progression-free survival" (n = 134), by proportional hazards analysis. Baseline severity was ...

Although BAL had been used for therapeutic purposes prior to its use as a diagnostic procedure and the value of BAL in the exploration and management of some interstitial lung diseases is now well established, its place in therapy is controversially reported. As early as 1963, RAMIREz et al. [280] were the frrst to perform a whole lung lavage (WLL) using a large volume of fluid in patients with...

Biphenotypic acute leukaemia (BAL) is an uncommon disease. As strict diagnostic criteria have only recently been established, the precise incidence among acute leukaemias is uncertain, although it is likely to account for approximately 5% of all acute leukaemias. BAL can be de novo or secondary to previous cytotoxic therapy. It has been included in the WHO classification of haemopoietic maligna...

In the analysis of broad absorption line (BAL) quasar spectra , Keck HIRES spectra are a useful complement to lower resolution HST and ground based spectra. The HIRES spectra provide accurate parameters for narrow, intervening type absorption systems including Lyman limit systems and a direct measurement of the smoothness of BAL features. The smoothness of the troughs is related to the number o...