Scintigraphic detection of post-pneumonectomy bronchopleural fistulae

A total of 20 ventilation studies [16 with xenon-133 and four with technetium-99m diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)] were performed in 11 patients with suspected post-pneumonectomy bronchopleural fistulae, The findings on the ventilation scan were correlated with bronchoscopy, taken as the gold standard for purposes of comparison. The sensitivity and specificity for Xe-133 scans were 83% and 100% respectively, while the sensitivity for Tc-99m-DTPA aerosol studies was poor at 0%. Special techniques for optimal visualization of the fistulae are enumerated.