title: Mismatch between gallium-67 uptake and CT findings in a case of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.
abstract: Gallium-67 citrate (67Ga) scintigraphy has been used as an indicator of activity of diffuse interstitial lung diseases. However, little has been mentioned in pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). Here we present a 53-year-old man with PAP showing patchy 67Ga uptake by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Interestingly, the strong 67Ga uptake was observed in areas where ground-glass opacities were faint on chest CT. The uptake persisted after whole-lung lavage while the ground-glass opacity improved markedly. Although the precise mechanism of 67Ga uptake remains unclear, 67Ga SPECT findings may reflect the different pathological condition of PAP than that shown by CT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Tohoru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.lastname: Thet-Thet-Lwin
authors.forename: Kiyohisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sekizawa
mesh_terms: D002951:Citrates / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D005708:Gallium / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011649:Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D002951:Citrates; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D005708:Gallium; C103850:gallium citrate