Radioactive xenon pulmonary studies in the smoker

Pulmonary Scopulariopsis in a chronic tobacco smoker.

A 70-year-old male smoker, with a three-month status of post-balloon angioplasty for ischaemic heart disease, presented with a one-week history of fever, haemoptysis and chest discomfort on coughing. The patient did not report any loss of weight or appetite. On examination, he was febrile. Pulmonary function tests revealed obstructive airway disease. High resolution computed tomography of the l...

Necrotizing pulmonary granulomata in a marijuana smoker.

We describe the case of a heavy marijuana and tobacco smoker who presented with progressive exertional dyspnea of 2 months' duration, and bilateral nodular lung infiltrates. Examination of the lung fields was normal, and lung function tests showed mild airflow obstruction with moderately reduced gas transfer. BAL returned green-black fluid consisting predominantly of macrophages laden with carb...

Use of radioactive xenon for studies of regional lung function. A comparison with oxygen-15.

Radioactive 133-Xenon Gas-Filled Balloon to Prevent Restenosis

Background—Ionizing radiation administered intraluminally via catheter-based systems using solid and sources or liquid-filled balloons has shown reduction in the neointima formation after injury in the porcine model. We propose a novel system that uses a 133-Xenon (Xe) radioactive gas-filled balloon catheter system. Methods and Results—Overstretch balloon injury was performed in the coronary ar...

Ventilator-driven xenon ventilation studies.

A modification of a common commercial Xe-133 ventilation device is described for mechanically assisted ventilation imaging. The patient's standard ventilator serves as the power source controlling the ventilatory rate and volume during the xenon study, but the gases in the two systems are not intermixed. This avoids contamination of the ventilator with radioactive xenon. Supplemental oxygen and...