Of 53 included patients, 2 patients died within 24 hours after admission and 9 patients were transferred to another hospital for logistical reasons shortly after admission. The remaining 42 patients underwent a nondirected BAL (patient characteristics in Table 1). A classical IPA risk factor was present in only one patient, who received immunosuppressive medication in the context of a renal transplant. None of the other patients received corticosteroid treatment before or during ICU admission. Patients with IPA more often had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma compared with those without IPA (P < 0.05), which may suggest a role for impaired ciliary clearance.