Cytology of Bronchoalveolar Lavage in Goats: Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio as a Biomarker of Pneumonic Consolidation

The cytology of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of some morphological types of caprine pneumonia was examined in Red Sokoto breed of goats. Lung lavage fluid was collected from 93 randomly selected normal and pathologic lung samples post slaughter. The total and differential white blood cell counts of the BAL fluid were determined, characterized, and compared on the basis of different morphologic forms of pneumonia confirmed by histopathology. Macrophage-to-neutrophil (MNR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR) ratios were computed and assessed for relationship with lung consolidation. The pneumonic lungs generally showed a significant increase in cellularity compared with normal lungs (p < .05). The differential cell counts showed a significant increase in the lymphocyte population (37.5%) in interstitial pneumonic lungs and an increase in the neutrophil population (55.4%) in the bronchopneumonic lungs compared with the control. Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis showed a significantly positive relationship between NLR and lung consolidation (r = .986; p = .000) of bronchopneumonic lungs at p < .01 (95% confidence interval). NLR increased as the lung consolidation increased. This study shows that BAL is an effective tool in the diagnosis of bronchopneumonia and interstitial pneumonias in goats and also demonstrates the potentials of NLRs of BAL fluid cytology as an indicator of severity of lung consolidation.