Scintigraphic evidence for relief of airways obstruction in cystic fibrosis.

A simple scheme for quantifying lung perfusion scintigrams was developed to evaluate the efficacy of a therapeutic regimen for the relief of airways obstruction in cystic fibrosis patients. Ten hospitalized patients were given conventional therapy including administration of intravenous antibiotics, mucolytic aerosols, chest physical therapy, and adequate nutrition and hydration as adjuncts to a single bronchoscopic bronchial washing procedure. Quantitative scoring of the lung scintigram was based upon the severity of the perfusion defects in equivalent upper and lower lung fields, as viewed from right and left posterior oblique projections. Seven to ten days following bronchoscopic washing, scintigraphic scores were found to correlate with changes in both the forced vital capacity and the one-second, time forced expiratory volume (r = 0.78, 0.70, respectively; P <.05). The severity of defective lung perfusion indicated the loss of lung volume and perfusion due to airways obstruction and secondary hypoxic vasoconstriction. Chest radiography was less reflective of improvement than lung scintigraphy. It was concluded that serial pulmonary perfusion scintigrams provide a sensitive tool for evaluating the relief of airways obstruction in cystic fibrosis.