Figure 2.

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from 24 healthy volunteers who received dexamethasone (n = 11) or placebo (n = 13). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (4 ng kg⁻¹) was instilled randomly via bronchoscopy into a left or a right lung segment. BALF samples were obtained 6 h after LPS instillation. Dexamethasone reduced BALF levels of prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 (F_{1 + 2}) (A) and thrombin–antithrombin complex (TATc) (B) in LPS‐challenged and saline‐challenged lung segments as compared with placebo. Dexamethasone had no significant effect on soluble tissue factor (TF) (C). Data represent means ± standard errors of the mean. **P < 0.01 versus saline; †P < 0.05 and ‡P < 0.01 for comparison between dexamethasone and placebo treatment.