Comparison of Manual and Suction Pump Aspiration Techniques for Performing Bronchoalveolar Lavage in 18 Dogs with Respiratory Tract Disease

BACKGROUND: Different aspiration techniques to retrieve bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) affect sample quality in healthy dogs. Studies evaluating these techniques in dogs with respiratory disease are lacking. OBJECTIVES: To compare sample quality of BALF acquired by manual aspiration (MA) and suction pump aspiration (SPA). ANIMALS: Eighteen client‐owned dogs with respiratory disease. METHODS: Randomized, blinded prospective clinical trial. Manual aspiration was performed with a 35‐mL syringe attached directly to the bronchoscope biopsy channel and SPA was performed with a maximum of 50 mmHg negative pressure applied to the bronchoscope suction valve using the suction trap connection. Both aspiration techniques were performed in each dog on contralateral lung lobes, utilizing 2 mL/kg lavage volumes per site. Samples of BALF were analyzed by percentage of retrieved infusate, total nucleated cell count (TNCC), differential cell count, semiquantitative assessment of slide quality, and diagnosis score. Data were compared by paired Student's t‐test, Wilcoxon signed‐rank test, chi‐squared test, and ANOVA. Cohen's kappa coefficient was used to assess agreement. RESULTS: The percentage of retrieved BALF (P = .001) was significantly higher for SPA than MA. Substantial agreement was found between cytologic classification of BALF obtained with MA and SPA (kappa = 0.615). There was no significant difference in rate of definitive diagnosis achieved with cytologic assessment between techniques (P = .78). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Suction pump aspiration, compared to MA, improved BALF retrieval, but did not significantly affect the rate of diagnostic success of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in dogs with pulmonary disease.