Diagnostic value of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytokine and lymphocyte profiles for lower respiratory tract infections in patients with lymphoma

The study examined the diagnostic value of analyzing cytokines and lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) to distinguish lower respiratory tract infections from non-infectious pulmonary infiltrates in patients with lymphoma. The research included 147 participants: 55 lymphoma patients with infections, 52 with non-infectious infiltrates, and 40 patients without lymphoma with infections. Researchers analyzed 14 cytokines and 10 types of lymphocytes using flow cytometry. Models based on CRP and SAA (routine inflammatory markers) achieved higher accuracy (AUC 0.973-0.969) than models based on BALF IL-8 and CD4+ lymphocytes (AUC 0.845-0.853). Although BALF profiles distinguished infections from non-infectious infiltrates, conventional biomarkers were more effective. Results suggest that BALF immune profiling may complement standard biomarkers and reveal immune signatures associated with lymphoma status and infection type.