Mycological Microscopic and Culture Examination of 400 Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) Samples

摘要

Background:The frequency of invasive opportunistic mycoses has increased significantly over the past decades especially in immunocompromised patients. Invasive aspergillosis (IA) has become a major cause of morbidity and mortality among these patients. As bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid samples are generally useful specimens in the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), this study was designed to evaluate the incidence of fungal elements in at-risk patients by direct microscopy and culture of BAL samples.