Procedures
On the same day as the bronchoscopy, we collected blood samples into
EDTA-anticoagulated tubes. Plasma was frozen at -800C
until analysis. The BAL fluid was collected by wedging the bronchoscope
within the right middle lobe and instilling 100ml of sterile normal
saline and collecting the return fluid (>30ml). Two
subjects underwent bronchoscopies of the right lower lobe based on
radiographic imaging. 1ml of the BAL sample was analyzed in the main
clinical laboratory for SARS-CoV2- RT-PCR and 10-15 ml were kept on ice
until processing for cytokine quantification in the research laboratory.