Lung inflammation in coal miners assessed by uptake of 67Ga-citrate and clearance of inhaled 99mTc-labeled diethylenetriamine pentaacetate aerosol.
We compared the diffuse lung uptake of 67Ga-citrate, an index of inflammatory lung activity, with the lung clearance of inhaled 99mTc-labeled diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (DTPA) aerosol, an index of pulmonary epithelial permeability, in a group of 19 West Virginia coal miners whose pulmonary status was compatible with coal worker's pneumoconiosis. 99mTc-DTPA clearance alone and 67Ga-citrate uptake alone were measured in nine and five additional subjects, respectively. The objective of this study was to determine if increased 99mTc-DTPA lung clearance was caused by inflammation at the lung epithelial surfaces. Subjects inhaled approximately 150 microCi (approximately 5.6 MBq) of 99mTc-DTPA aerosol, and quantitative gamma camera images of the lungs were acquired at 1-min increments for 25 min. Regions of interest (ROI) were selected to include (1) both lungs; (2) each individual lung; and (3) the upper, middle, and lower thirds of each lung. 99mTc-DTPA clearance was determined from the slopes of the respective time-activity plots for the different ROI. Each subject was intravenously administered 50 miCroCk (1.9 MBq)/kg 67Ga-citrate 48 to 72 h before imaging the body between neck and pelvis. The extent of 67Ga-citrate lung uptake was expressed as the gallium index (GI). Mean radioaerosol clearance half-time (T1/2) for the six nonsmoking coal miners (60.6 +/- 16.0 min) was significantly shorter (p less than 0.001) than for the nonsmoking control group (123.8 +/- 28.7 min). T1/2 for the 12 smoking miners (18.4 +/- 10.2 min) was shorter than for the smoking control group (33.1 +/- 17.8 min), but the difference did not attain statistical significance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Susskind
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Clinical Research Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973.
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002951:Citrates; D019343:Citric Acid; D003032:Coal Mining; D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011009:Pneumoconiosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011659:Pulmonary Gas Exchange; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics; D012907:Smoking; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate
D002951:Citrates; D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D019343:Citric Acid; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate