Bronchoalveolar lavage cellular profiles in patients with systemic sclerosis–associated interstitial lung disease are not predictive of disease progression

Abstract

BAL findings provide only limited prognostic information in SSc-ILD. Neutrophilia on BAL is linked to early mortality, but BAL findings are not linked to long-term survival or the rapidity of progression of lung disease. The usefulness of BAL to define alveolitis in SSc is questionable.