501. [Dynamic pulmonary scintigraphy with Tc99m radioaerosol for the evaluation of the permeability of the alveolo-capillary barrier].
- Author
-
Maini CL, Bonetti MG, Giordano A, Pistelli R, Antonelli Incalzi R, and Marchetti L
- Subjects
- Adult, Aerosols, Aged, Humans, Lung Diseases, Obstructive physiopathology, Middle Aged, Pulmonary Alveoli physiopathology, Pulmonary Fibrosis physiopathology, Radionuclide Imaging, Smoking physiopathology, Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate, Capillary Permeability, Lung diagnostic imaging, Organometallic Compounds, Pentetic Acid, Pulmonary Alveoli blood supply, Technetium
- Abstract
Pulmonary clearance of small droplet 99mTc-DTPA radioaerosol was studied in 100 patients (12 normal subjects, N; 10 asymptomatic healthy smokers, FA; 31 patients with interstitial lung diseases, IP; 47 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease, BPCO). The first seven minutes of clearance were described with the function At = Ao*exp (-K*t) and the time constant K was considered representative of the 99mTc-DTPA clearance rate and hence of the alveolar-capillary barrier permeability. Groups FA, IP and BPCO showed a significant (p less than 0.05) or a highly significant (p less than 0.01) increase in permeability when compared to group N. No correlation was found between permeability and bronchial obstruction tests. The following conclusions were drawn: --99mTc-DTPA dynamic lung scanning is an easy, non-invasive method to assess derangements of alveolar-capillary barrier permeability secondary to epithelial damage; --permeability increase is a very early effect of cigarette smoke damage to the epithelium; --other mechanisms of epithelial injury are present in diffuse lung disease; --while the clinical role of this new pathophysiological test is not yet clear, it is likely that it may become a very early marker of pulmonary epithelial damage in diffuse lung disease.
- Published
- 1987