Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine
-
Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Alveolar integrity in pulmonary emphysema using technetium-99m-DTPA and technetium-99m-HMPAO radioaerosol inhalation lung scintigraphy.
The alveolar integrity (AI) in 17 male patients with pulmonary emphysema (EMPH) diagnosed by chest x-ray was measured by 99mTc-DTPA and 99mTc-HMPAO radioaerosol inhalation lung scintigraphy. ⋯ Our results suggest that: (1) at least two different mechanisms in the lungs were at work; (2) the AI damage in EMPH developed mainly in the lipophilic part of the alveoli; and (3) the AI damage presented as slopes of DTPA/HMPAO in our study was different from the traditional pulmonary function such as DLCO.