(a) Total protein content in lung lavage fluid after exposure to saline, meconium, and milk (mg/ml).

Time	Saline group (total protein, mg/ml)	Meconium group (total protein, mg/ml)	Milk group (total protein, mg/ml)
0 hours	0.09 ± 0.1	0.9 ± 0.2	1.2 ± 0.2
4 hours	0.11 ± 0.1	4.1 ± 1.0*	1.1 ± 0.7
8 hours	0.20 ± 0.2	5.7 ± 2.1*	1.7 ± 0.2
24 hours	0.24 ± 0.2	6.2% ± 1.7*	2.0 ± 0.4

Total protein in lung lavage increased significantly in meconium group compared to both saline and milk groups (*P < .05). There was a 10–20-fold increase in protein content meconium group compared to saline group and about 4-folds compared to milk group. Instillation of milk resulted in about 8–10-fold increase of total protein content compared to saline (*P < .05). Please note that values at 0 hr indicate preinstillation baseline values in each group.