Measurement of lung volume by lung perfusion scanning using SPECT and prediction of postoperative respiratory function

Measurement of lung volume by lung perfusion scanning using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and its usefulness for the prediction of respiratory function after lung resection were investigated. The lung volumes calculated in 5 patients by SPECT (threshold level 20%) using 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin (MAA), related very closely to the actually measured lung volumes. This results prompted us to calculate the total lung volume and the volume of the lobe to be resected in 18 patients with lung cancer by SPECT. Based on the data obtained, postoperative respiratory function was predicted. The predicted values of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume (FEV1.0), and maximum vital volume (MVV) showed closer correlations with the actually measured postoperative values (FVC, FEV1.0, MVV : r=0.944, r=0.917, r=0.795 respectively), than the values predicted by the ordinary lung perfusion scanning. This method facilitates more detailed evaluation of local lung function on a lobe-by-lobe basis, and can be applied clinically to predict postoperative respiratory function. (author)