Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) Consultation

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) cytology is the most common tool used to assess inflammation and sample cells of the lower airway due to its reliability and practicality. Horses are given a sedative and an endoscope or a small tube is passed through the nostrils into the lower airway until it wedges into a small bronchus in the lung. Saline solution is washed over the lung tissue and cells are recovered by aspirating the fluid from the airways.  To confirm a diagnosis of IAD the sample must have an elevated number of neutraphils (>5%) and/or mast cells (>2%) and/or eosinophils (>0.1%).

If you think your horse may have IAD or RAO contact your veterinarian to perfrom a bronchoalvolar lavage (BAL). Samples can be sent to our lab for analysis.

Instructions for sending samples:

• Once the fluid has been aspirated, tilt the syringes to resuspend the cells and transfer the BAL fluid into a purple top (EDTA) tube.
• Use 1 EDTA tube per syringe used to aspirate the BAL fluid
• Label each EDTA tube and add the syringe number to each tube: for example, if you used 5 syringes, label the tubes from 1 to 5
• Ship with ice packs

PDF Cytology Form to be completed and mailed along with the sample to the following address:

Equine Respiratory Laboratory
University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Clinical Skills Building
11877, 85th Street NW
Calgary, AB, Canada, T3R1J3
Phone:(403) 210 7947