Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 1990;17(6-8):334-7.
doi: 10.1007/BF01268025.

Pulmonary clearance of technetium 99m diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid aerosol in patients with amiodarone pneumonitis

Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Pulmonary clearance of technetium 99m diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid aerosol in patients with amiodarone pneumonitis

M Terra-Filho et al. Eur J Nucl Med. 1990.

Abstract

Amiodarone pneumonitis is a serious complication that may lead to fatal lung fibrosis. In an attempt to diagnose this condition as early as possible, the technetium-99m-labelled diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) aerosol washout rates of 10 non-smoking normal volunteers (group 1), 10 non-smoking patients on a long-term amiodarone regimen with dilated cardiomyopathy but no congestive heart failure (group II) and 10 patients with amiodarone pneumonitis (group III) were compared. Spirometric measurements, as percentage predicted, were higher in group I than in group III (P less than 0.05). The global mean effective half-lives of 99mTc-DTPA aerosol for both lungs together in minutes were 65 +/- 14, 55 +/- 16 and 27 +/- 4 for groups I, II and III, respectively. Group III values were significantly lower than those of groups I and II (P less than 0.05). Our results demonstrated that amiodarone pneumonitis alters the alveolar-capillary membrane permeability to hydrophilic molecules. The pulmonary clearance of 99mTc-DTPA aerosol is a useful test in the differentiation of patients on a long-term amiodarone regimen without side effects from patients with amiodarone pneumonitis. The test is rapid, easy to perform and has the potential for playing an important role in deciding which patients should discontinue therapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Chest. 1985 Sep;88(3):327-34 - PubMed
    1. Br J Anaesth. 1982 Jul;54(7):705-21 - PubMed
    1. J Thorac Imaging. 1988 Jul;3(3):21-7 - PubMed
    1. Ann Thorac Surg. 1985 Aug;40(2):139-43 - PubMed
    1. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1983 May;127(5 Pt 2):S51-9 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources