• C-M Shih, Y-C Shiau, J J Wang, S-T Ho, and A Kao.
• Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, China Medical College Hospital, No. 2 Yuh-Der Road, Taichung 404, Taiwan, ROC.
• Respiration. 2002 Jan 1; 69 (2): 143-7.

BackgroundSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can affect every organ. Involvement of the lungs in this disease is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality.ObjectivesTo assess pulmonary vascular endothelium damage in SLE by lung uptake of technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime ((99m)Tc-HMPAO).MethodsLung uptake of (99m)Tc-HMPAO was measured in 20 SLE patients and for comparison in 25 controls without SLE, referred for brain imaging due to dementia or stroke. Of the 20 SLE patients, 10 had significant clinical pulmonary manifestations. However, all SLE patients had normal chest X-ray findings. Anterior lung image, including a large part of the liver, was taken 10 min after intravenous injection of 20-25 mCi of (99m)Tc-HMPAO. Regions of interest were calculated over the liver and lung.ResultsThe mean lung/liver uptake ratio in patients without SLE was 0.36 +/- 0.1. The mean lung/liver uptake ratio in SLE patients was 0.79 +/- 0.58. The difference was significant.ConclusionsOur results indicated that determining the ratio of lung/liver uptake of (99m)Tc-HMPAO may be a useful complementary method to assess pulmonary injury in SLE patients.Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

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