Krypton 81m ventilation studies in pulmonary embolic disease. Chapter 10

Results are presented of 81Krsup(m) ventilation studies carried out on 22 patients suspected of pulmonary embolic disease. All patients showed one or more focal defects of lung perfusion with preserved ventilation, and this was regarded as evidence of pulmonary vascular occlusion. Less than half had a normal distribution of ventilation. Of those with abnormalities, the majority could be accounted for by clinical radiological evidence of abnormalities of lung airways. A small group, however, could have represented bronchial occlusion or narrowing secondary to pulmonary emboli. (author)