Pulmonary and mediastinal xerotomography: a critical appraisal.

Xerotomography was performed on 148 patients with proven or suspected tumors of the lung or mediastinum. Retrospectively they were compared to film tomography in 108 cases. In 64 patients, the results of histological examination were also available. Xerotomography proved diagnostically more effective than film tomography in 52 cases (48%), less effective in 6 cases (6%) and about equivalent in the remaining 50 cases (46%). Xerotomography appeared to be more effective in visualization of small peripheral nodes of moderate opacity. Xerotomography has to be a selected second-line technique for special cases, in particular for the study of coin lesions, for the search for cavitations and calcifications and for the study of pulmonary vessels.