Reversibility of Pulmonary Telangiectasia in Liver Cirrhosis Evidenced by Serial Dynamic Pulmonary Perfusion Imaging

Pulmonary perfusion Imaging with Tc-99m MAA revealed significant uptake in the lungs, brain, spleen, and both kidneys of a 48-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis and pulmonary telangiectasia associated with marked hypoxemia and cyanosis. Dynamic pulmonary perfusion imaging revealed a gradual reducti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical nuclear medicine 1989-12, Vol.14 (12), p.909-911
Main Authors: SHIJO, HIROSHI, NAKAYAMA, KOHICHI, SASAKI, HARUKA, UEKI, TOSHIHARU, SAKAGUCHI, SEIGO, SAKATA, HIROMICHI, OKUMURA, MAKOTO
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen
Humans
Hypoxia - etiology
Liver Cirrhosis - complications
Liver Cirrhosis - diagnostic imaging
Liver. Biliary tract. Portal circulation. Exocrine pancreas
Lung - blood supply
Lung - diagnostic imaging
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Other diseases. Semiology
Radionuclide Imaging
Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin
Telangiectasis - diagnostic imaging
Telangiectasis - etiology
Ventilation-Perfusion Ratio
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Summary:Pulmonary perfusion Imaging with Tc-99m MAA revealed significant uptake in the lungs, brain, spleen, and both kidneys of a 48-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis and pulmonary telangiectasia associated with marked hypoxemia and cyanosis. Dynamic pulmonary perfusion imaging revealed a gradual reduction after peak uptake in both lungs. Several weeks after albumin replacement, the hypoxia and dyspnea disappeared with no change in hepatocellular function. At that time, dynamic pulmonary perfusion imaging revealed a plateau-like time-activity curve of uptake in the lungs, as compared with the findings obtained during the state of severe hypoxemia. These observations suggest that pulmonary teleangiectasia in a patient with liver cirrhosis may be due to functional vasodilatation. Serial dynamic pulmonary perfusion imaging indicates the passage of the MAA particles through the widened lumen of the pulmonary alveolar capillaries.
ISSN:0363-9762
1536-0229
DOI:10.1097/00003072-198912000-00011