Healthy passive cigarette smokers have increased pulmonary alveolar permeability.
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.
Beadsmoore
Clare
C
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
Cheow
Heok K
HK
Szczepura
Katherine
K
Ruparelia
Prina
P
Peters
A Michael
AM
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
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate