[Evaluation of the lung uptake of 123I-IMP by bronchoalveolar lavage].

A 67-year-old female with radiation pneumonitis in the right upper lobe underwent lung scanning and bronchoalveolar lavage 4 hours after the intravenous injection of 123I-IMP. The lung scanning showed increased accumulation of 123I-IMP, corresponding with the area of radiation pneumonitis. The ratios of radioactivities of the cellular and noncellular components in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid to that of the serum, were 27.0 and 0.39, respectively. Our results suggest that 123I-IMP or its metabolites are transported through alveolo-capillary barrier and taken up by free cells in the alveolar space after 123I-IMP has been bound to nonspecific receptor sites in the endothelial cell in the capillary lumen.