[Isotopic method in the demonstration of diaphragmatic defects in a case of pleural effusion associated with cirrhosis: apropos of a case]. / Mise en évidence par méthode isotopique de défects diaphragmatiques en cas d'épanchement pleural associé à une cirrhose: à propos d'un cas.

A 62-year-old woman presented with massive right-sided hydrothorax associated with cirrhosis of the liver. Chest scintigraphy after intraperitoneal injection of labelled tracer showed movement of the tracer from the peritoneal to the pleural cavity. Medical therapy and thoracocentesis were successful in this case.

Temporal behavior of peripheral organ distribution volume in mammillary systems. I. A new tool for in vivo tracer kinetic analysis.

In complex mammillary compartmental systems, the kinetic solutions for central and peripheral compartments are sums of too many exponentials to be accurately analyzed without very sophisticated mathematical tools. Our data show the peripheral organ distribution volume (PODV) kinetics to exhibit systematic time behavior depending on its mode of relation with plasma: linear increase for irreversible transfer, uniexponential function growing toward as asymptotic value for reversible transfer. Statistical analysis of our kinetic data shows that no other significant information can be extracted at least inside the time and statistical noise limits of our investigation. After intravenous injection of a diffusible tracer, the total activity in any region of interest (ROI) in the body is the sum of various components and, under certain conditions, PODV transformation easily allows their separation. Our simple non-compartmental model provides a useful tool for quantitative tracer analysis in nuclear medicine.

Temporal behavior of peripheral organ distribution volume in mammillary systems. II. Application to background correction in separate glomerular filtration rate estimation in man.

An original approach to background subtraction is presented for 99mTc-DTPA separate glomerular filtration rate (SGFR) estimation in man. The method is based on the properties of the peripheral organ distribution volume (PODV) in mammillary systems. These PODV properties allow easy separation of the components of the renogram, i.e., interstitial fluid, plasma and renal activities. The proposed algorithm takes advantage of the linear time dependence of the kidney distribution volume, during the renal uptake phase, to correct for the plasma residual activity, which always remains after classical background correction. Theoretically, the ratio between kidney uptake and SGFR should be identical for both left and right kidneys, even for very asymmetrical kidney functions. This is best verified when the proposed plasma residual activity correction is applied.

Value of brain scanning in pediatric subdural collections.

Piepsz, A., Bormans, J., Segers, A., Noterman, J. and Decostre, P. (Departments of Paediatrics, Radioisotopes and Neurosurgery, University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium). Value of brain scanning in pediatric subdural collections. Acta Paediatr Scand, 64:2, 1965. Eighteen children with subdural collections were submitted to brain scintigraphy. By this method, idopathic and post-traumatic hematomas were detected in 40% of the cases, and subdural effusions in 70% of the cases. No false-negative results were noted in the 3 cases of empyema. Several false-positive images were recorded, most of them following purulent meningitis, without any satisfactory explanation. Neither the technique of scintigraphy used in the department, the dimensions of the skull, the age of hematoma, nor the presence of membranes seemed to affect the accuracy of the method. Compared with the other easily performed examinations (eye fundus, EEG, Echo), scintigraphy still remains important in the diagnosis of subdural collections in children.