Annals of nuclear medicine
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The welding process produces metal fumes and gases which may affect respiratory health. Technetium-99m diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Tc-99m DTPA) dynamic lung scanning is an easy, noninvasive method to assess disorders of alveolar-capillary barrier permeability secondary to epithelial damage. We aimed to investigate the alveolar clearance by Tc-99m DTPA radioaerosol inhalation scintigraphy in welders, to assess additive effects of exposure to welding fumes and cigarette smoking on clearance rate of alveolar epithelium and to determine the correlation between Tc-99m DTPA aerosol lung scintigraphy and spirometric measurements. ⋯ Welding seems to decrease alveolar clearance which causes an increase in the penetration index. This was considered to be due to fibrotic changes and increased number of alveolar macrophages induced by welding fumes.
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Meningeal extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) is a rare finding in idiopathic myelofibrosis. Intracranial EMH is typically asymptomatic and sites are usually found by chance. Diagnosis of EMH is difficult, based on clinical circumstances and the use of different diagnostic imaging modalities, such as CT, MRI or radionuclide imaging. ⋯ After gadodiamid injection, Tl weighted MRI showed diffuse contrast increased in the meningeal areas surrounding the brain. A biopsy of the mass revealed extramedullary hematopoiesis composed of erythroblasts, mature and immature myeloid cells, and megakaryocytes. It was deduced that these described foci of EMH.