All bronchoalveolar lavages submitted to the laboratory for diagnosis of possible infectious agents will be examined using the Diff-Quick stain (DQ) a rapid Giemsa modification. These specimens will be examined by a variety of different stain and culture methods. The DQ will be read without knowledge of other stain or culture results to determine its utility in picking up potential infectious agents. The advantage to this stain is its rapidity (<5 min) and its ability to stain a variety of microorganisms as well as viral inclusions.
