Does pulmonary airway inflammation relate to intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) in bronchoalveolar lavage specimens? A pilot study.

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to assess the value of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) levels in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens.

METHODS

BALs from 44 unselected patients undergoing routine diagnostic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage were studied. Cell-free supernatants of the BAL specimens were frozen at -70 degrees C until tested. BAL ICAM-1 concentration was measured using enzyme immunoassay and degree of patient illness assessed by modified APACHE II scores.

RESULTS

ICAM-1 in BAL fluid was positively correlated to the patient illness score (modified APACHE II) at a p value of 0.026. No such association was found between ICAM-1 levels and cigarette use or infection with pneumocystis carinii, although a few individuals in the smoker's group with pulmonary infection had 10-fold elevations of BAL ICAM-1.

CONCLUSIONS

BAL ICAM-1 may relate to the pulmonary pathogenic process as supported by the association between modified APACHE II scores and ICAM-1 values. Specific pulmonary-related diagnosis and BAL ICAM-1 did not produce significant relationships in this study.