title: Lung clearance of inhaled 99Tcm-erythromycin lactobionate in non-smokers and smokers.
abstract: 99Tcm-labelled erythromycin lactobionate (99Tcm-EL) was used as a radioaerosol for lung ventilation imaging in humans after animal studies had shown slow clearance of 99Tcm-EL from the alveolar spaces. We performed inhalation studies in 26 volunteers: 11 non-smokers, 13 smokers (3 of whom smoked one cigarette just before inhalation of 99Tcm-EL) and 2 patients with pulmonary emboli (PE). The PE patients were imaged by both 99Tcm-EL and xenon-133 (133Xe) for comparison. The image quality with 99Tcm-EL was comparable to that with 133Xe, showing good peripheral penetration. The biological clearance half-lifes for 99Tcm-EL were 3.9 +/- 1.1 h in the non-smokers, 5.9 +/- 2.2 h in the smokers and 9.8 +/- 6.6 h in the three subjects who smoked a cigarette just before inhalation of the aerosol. 99Tcm-EL was cleared more slowly in the smokers and after smoke exposure, which could have indicated alveolar macrophage uptake. 99Tcm-EL can be used as an alternative to 99Tcm-diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (99Tcm-DTPA) in ventilation imaging, thus overcoming the problem of the fast clearance of 99Tcm-DTPA in smokers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Durak
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sayit
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aktoğu
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Değirmenci
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yürekli
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ertay
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Güven
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000328:Adult; D000336:Aerosols; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D007205:Indium Radioisotopes; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012907:Smoking; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D007205:Indium Radioisotopes; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; C102272:technetium Tc 99m erthyromycin lactobionate; D004917:Erythromycin