Lung scanning with
99mTc-MAA was done on five normal man and thirty patients suspected of pulmonary circulatory disturbance and the following results were obtained.
1. Lung scan is readily visualized immediately after intravenous injection of
99mTc-MAA and its radioisotopic activity reaches maximum concentration at 15-20 seconds on the lung image.
2. Lung scans obtained from normal subjects are almost identical to their lung silhouettes derived from their chest roentgenograms, therefore those scans can be used as controls in comparative studies of patients with abnormal blood flow.
3. All three cases with pulmonary embolism had abnormal scans. In two cases, the chest roentgenogram showed no abnormality, therefore perfusion lung scanning provides very useful technique for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism as well as angiography. Lung scanning with
99mTc-MAA is considered to be a first choice because it is less troublesome.
4. Twenty seven cases of focal pulmonary circulatory disturbance (such as emphysema, fibrosis, obstructive lung diseases, destroyed lung, and other abnormal conditions), were also examined, and focal defects in lung scans showed a correlation with chest roentgenographic abnormalities on the whole. Futhermore,
99mTc-MAA scintigrams may reveal minor pathologic perfusion changes in comparison with roentgenogram.
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