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Association between neutrophil concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and recent losses in diffusing capacity in men formerly exposed to asbestos.

It has been observed widely that some individuals exposed to asbestos will experience continued losses of lung function after asbestos exposure ceases. Unfortunately, there are few data on factors that determine clinical course, limiting the clinician's ability to determine prognosis in an individual case and restricting the possibility for testing or targeting any potential intervention to alter the course among the millions at risk. In an attempt to address this question, we studied a volunteer population of 50 such men from among a stable, heterogeneous population of asbestos-exposed workers who had been continuously followed in our occupational medicine clinics for up to 12 years (mean, 6.3 years); most had some clinical or roentgenographic sign of asbestos effect, pleural or parenchymal. Each subject was reexamined clinically, functionally, and roentgenographically. Asbestos and tobacco exposure histories were carefully reviewed with the subjects and quantified based on these reports and available data regarding the various work environments from which they came. Subsequently, each underwent a bronchoalveolar lavage to assess cellularity and levels of various proteins. The levels of risk factors, clinical findings, and biologic parameters from lavage were examined for their relationship to serial changes in lung function during the period over which they had been previously followed. Results of the study demonstrate that serial changes in lung function were not closely related to level or length of prior exposure, smoking behavior, chest roentgenographic findings, or lung volumes. Progressive loss of diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (Dco) was significantly associated with two factors: level of neutrophil concentration in lavage fluid (0.043 +/- 0.016 ml/min/mm Hg/yr drop for each 0.1 x 10(4) neutrophils per milliliter, p = 0.02) and the level of Dco itself (0.17 +/- 0.07 ml/min/mm Hg/yr drop for each 10 percent decrease in percent Dco predicted, p = 0.01). The relationship with neutrophil concentration was statistically independent of the association with Dco itself and stronger; it persisted when loss of Dco was adjusted for baseline value. Lung volume changes were not associated with any predictor variables, alone or in combination. We conclude that the presence of neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid is associated with recent disease progression that may have implications in studies of the mechanisms of asbestos-associated disease and in clinical treatment of patients at risk.