Bronchoalveolar lavage in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

The lymphocytes retrieved by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of three patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome were studied to determine the local immune status of these patients. These results were compared to those of patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, who have similar systemic immune response (anergy, hypergammaglobulinemia). In these AIDS patients, the T4/T8 ratio in the BAL was 0.44 +/- 0.20. In eleven patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, the bronchoalveolar lavage showed a T4/T8 ratio of 7.51 +/- 2.14. It is possible that patients with AIDS are unable to change the local immune response in the lung and thus are at risk for unusual infections.