title: Healthy passive cigarette smokers have increased pulmonary alveolar permeability.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Does passive smoking have a measurable effect on lung function in otherwise healthy subjects? There is current interest concerning passive smoking but no objective evidence showing that it has any impact on lung function.
  
  
  METHODS
  The pulmonary clearance rate of (99m)Tc-DTPA was measured in 21 healthy volunteers after inhalation as a radio-aerosol and compared between healthy cigarette smokers, passive smokers and non-smokers. All volunteers had normal lung function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clearance half-times in healthy passive smokers (n=5) were longer than in healthy smokers (n=6) but clearly shorter compared with healthy non-smokers (n=10) with respective mean values of 45.2 (SD 8.3), 24.3 (8.6) and 80.3 (20) min.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Passive smoking has a functional impact on the lung blood/gas barrier.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beadsmoore
authors.forename: Heok K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Cheow
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Szczepura
authors.forename: Prina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ruparelia
authors.forename: A Michael
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010539:Permeability; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000473:pathology*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests / Q000379:methods; D012907:Smoking; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate