Whole lung lavage in the treatment of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis

Preclinical safety and efficacy models for pulmonary drug delivery of antimicrobials with focus on in vitro models

New pharmaceutical formulations must be proven as safe and effective before entering clinical trials. Also in the context of pulmonary drug delivery, preclinical models allow testing of novel antimicrobials, reducing risks and costs during their development. Such models allow reducing the complexity of the human lung, but still need to reflect relevant (patho-) physiological features. This review focuses on preclinical pulmonary models, mainly in vitro models, to assess drug safety and efficacy of antimicrobials. Furthermore, approaches to investigate common infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, are emphasized. Pneumonia, tuberculosis and infections occurring due to cystic fibrosis are in focus of this review. We conclude that especially in vitro models offer the chance of an efficient and detailed analysis of new antimicrobials, but also draw attention to the advantages and limitations of such currently available models and critically discuss the necessary steps for their future development.

Serial bronchoscopic lung lavage in pulmonary alveolar proteinosis under local anesthesia

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare disease, characterized by alveolar accumulation of surfactant composed of proteins and lipids due to defective surfactant clearance by alveolar macrophages. Mainstay of treatment is whole lung lavage, which requires general anesthesia. Herein, we report a case of primary PAP, successfully treated with serial bronchoscopic lung lavages under local anesthesia.

[Whole lung lavage - Report of four cases of alveolar proteinosis]

Whole lung lavage is a technique that was developed in the 1960s with the purpose of removing lipoproteinaceous material that accumulates in the bronchi of patients with alveolar proteinosis, leading to clinical and functional improvement. There has been an evolution in the technique; initially it was performed under local anesthesia to each segment of the lung and currently it is performed under general anesthesia sequentially to both lungs. This review describes the whole lung lavage, its major indication, alveolar proteinosis and some data on the experience of our hospital.