Annals of nuclear medicine
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Detection of alveolar epithelial injury by Tc-99m DTPA radioaerosol inhalation lung scan in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disorder primarily involving the joints. Lung alterations in RA may be primary or secondary to pharmacological treatments and may involve the alveoli, interstitium, airways and/or pleura. Technetium-99m diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Tc-99m DTPA) aerosol inhalation scintigraphy is a sensitive and noninvasive test commonly employed to assess pulmonary epithelial membrane permeability. ⋯ However, a weak correlation was found between duration of disease and T1/2 values of Tc-99m DTPA clearance (p = 0.006). PI values tended to correlate with FEF25-75, although, this was not statistically significant (p = 0.057). This study shows that no changes occur in alveolar-capillary permeability in RA patients without lung alterations.