Negative BAL n (%) | Positive BAL n (%) | p-value | |
---|---|---|---|
Total | 85 (39.2%) | 132 (60.8%) | |
Male gender | 54 (63.5%) | 98 (74.2) | 0.098 |
Mean age in years ± SD | 52.4 ± 14.6 | 51.3 ± 14.6 | 0.588 |
Current smokers | 10 (11.8%) | 17 (12.9%) | 1.000 |
Cause of immunosuppression: | |||
HIV/ AIDS | 12 (14.1%) | 47 (35.6%) | 0.001* |
High dose corticosteroids | 8 (9.4%) | 8 (6.1%) | 0.428 |
Steroid-sparing immunosuppressive medication | 17 (20.0%) | 27 (20.5%) | 1.000 |
Hematologic malignancy | 46 (54.1%) | 49 (37.1%) | 0.017* |
Leukemia | 30 (35.3%) | 25 (18.9%) | 0.010* |
Lymphoma | 14 (16.5%) | 17 (12.9%) | 0.552 |
Myelodysplastic | 2 (2.4%) | 4 (3.0%) | 1.000 |
Multiple myeloma | 0 (0%) | 3 (2.3%) | 0.282 |
Chemotherapy | 54 (63.5%) | 50 (37.9%) | < 0.001* |
Neutropenia | 32 (37.6%) | 40 (21.6%) | 0.302 |
Mild (ANC 1000–1499/μl) | 8 (9.6%) | 4 (3.1%) | 0.127 |
Moderate (ANC 500–999/μl) | 7 (8.4%) | 6 (4.6%) | |
Severe (ANC < 500/μl) | 16 (19.3%) | 29 (22.1%) | |
Clinical presentation: | |||
Fever | 60 (74.1%) | 86 (65.6%) | 0.224 |
Cough | 38 (46.9%) | 78 (59.5%) | 0.089 |
Dyspnea | 26 (32.1%) | 53 (40.5%) | 0.244 |
Pleurisy | 7 (8.6%) | 12 (9.2%) | 1.000 |
Median symptom duration in days (IQR) | 15 (8–66) | 19 (11–65.5) | 0.017* |
Treatment at the time of BAL: | |||
Antibiotics | 75 (90.4%) | 117 (90.0%) | 1.000 |
Median duration antibiotics in days (IQR) | 7 (4, 10) | 6 (3, 11) | 0.477 |
Antifungals | 33 (38.8%) | 50 (37.9%) | 0.887 |
Antivirals | 43 (50.6%) | 60 (45.5%) | 0.488 |
Radiologic presentation on CT (n = 181): | |||
Consolidation | 44 (54.3%) | 57 (57.0%) | 0.764 |
Ground glass opacities | 42 (51.9%) | 51 (51.0%) | 1.000 |
Tree-in-bud appearance | 11 (13.6%) | 7 (7.0%) | 0.211 |
Reticular pattern | 3 (3.7%) | 8 (8.0%) | 0.350 |
Nodules | 32 (39.5%) | 31 (31.0%) | 0.273 |
Cavitation | 6 (7.5%) | 14 (14.0%) | 0.233 |
BAL segments: | |||
Upper lobes | 44 (51.8%) | 62 (47.7%) | 0.579 |
Right middle lobe | 26 (30.6%) | 32 (24.6%) | 0.350 |
Lower lobes | 32 (37.6%) | 53 (40.8%) | 0.671 |