[Follow-up in lung transplant by the study of the pulmonary epithelial permeability and the pulmonary scintigraphies of ventilation and perfusion: preliminary results].
BACKGROUND
Acute rejection is the most common complication in lung transplantation.


OBJECTIVE
This work aimed to assess the contribution of pulmonary clearance of radioaerosols and relative pulmonary perfusion to diagnose acute rejection in lung transplantation.


METHODS
We have designed a prospective study and present the results obtained for the preliminary phase. This work includes 5 patients who have received a lung transplantation and in whom 28 studies of pulmonary clearance of 99mTc-DTPA and relative pulmonary perfusion with 99mTc microspheres were performed. The pulmonary biopsy diagnosed 9 rejection episodes, 2 associated to CMV infection.


RESULTS
The mean radioaerosol clearance time increased when the follow-up was favorable and decreased in 6 of the 9 rejection episodes, including 2 associated to CMV infection. There was only one case with decreased mean clearance time that was not associated to rejection.


CONCLUSIONS
Calculating relative pulmonary perfusion can be useful in the follow-up of single lung transplantation but not in bipulmonary ones. Our results suggest that measuring 99mTc-DTPA clearance is useful to suspect a rejection episode.
Montero
A
A
Servicio de Medicina Nuclear, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander, 39008, España.
Carril
J
J
Banzo
I
I
Gutiérrez-Mendiguchía
C
C
Quirce
R
R
Uriarte
I
I
Vallina
N
N
Hernández
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000336:Aerosols / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016040:Lung Transplantation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008863:Microspheres; D008875:Middle Aged; D010477:Perfusion; D010539:Permeability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate
D000336:Aerosols; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate