[Comparison of parietal smear cytology (nose/bronchus) with bronchoalveolar lavage in children with asthma and chronic bronchitis].

The aim of the study was the cytologic evaluation of both the analysis of nasal and bronchus smears compared with that of the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). 137 children (age: 4.8 years; 4 months - 17 years) with chronic nonspecific respiratory diseases (CNSRD) undergoing bronchologic examinations in general anesthesia were divided into 4 groups: relapsing bronchitis (n = 19), chronic bronchitis (n = 26), relapsing or chronic obstructive bronchitis (n = 81) and bronchial asthma (n = 11). Only the smear cytograms (nose, bronchus) enabled to detect allergic patients with bronchial asthma (p less than 0.001) in form of a significant eosinophilia. In contrast, BAL cytograms were too insensitive to detect eosinophilia. The BAL may be helpful in cases of interstitial lung diseases (sarcoidosis, alveolitis, lung fibrosis).