Bronchoalveolar lavage | Transbronchial biopsy | Transbronchial cryobiopsy | Surgical lung biopsy | |
Respiratory bronchiolitis interstitial lung disease | + | ++ | +++ | +++ |
Desquamative interstitial pneumonia | + | ++ | +++ | +++ |
Langerhans cell histiocytosis | + | ++ | +++ | +++ |
Extrinsic allergic alveolitis/hypersensitivity pneumonitis | + | ++ | +++ | +++ |
Diffuse pan-bronchiolitis | + | ++ | +++ | +++ |
Exogenous lipoid pneumonitis | ++ | ++ | +++ | +++ |
Pneumoconiosis | + | ++ | +++ | +++ |
Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis | +++ | ++ | +++ | +++ |
Erdheim–Chester disease | − | + | ++ | +++ |
Rosai–Dorfman disease | − | + | ++ | +++ |
Gaucher disease | +# | + | ++ | +++ |
Niemann–Pick disease | +# | + | ++ | +++ |
–: almost never diagnostic; +: weakly diagnostic; ++: moderately diagnostic; +++: almost always diagnostic. #: bronchoalveolar lavage is helpful in supporting the diagnosis once clinically suspected, but rarely diagnostic per se.