A clinical comparison of Technegas and xenon-133 in 50 patients with suspected pulmonary embolus.

A comparison of "Technegas" and xenon-133 was performed in 50 patients presenting with a clinical diagnosis of pulmonary embolus. All patients underwent studies with xenon inhalation, Technegas inhalation, and macroaggregated albumin perfusion. Technegas is a new ultrafine ventilatory agent with a particle size of 50 to 200A produced from technetium pertechnetate and graphite in an argon environment. Although particulate in nature, Technegas is transported and diffuses like a gaseous agent. Its production results in a high specific activity yield with high efficiency. There is no significant deposition in the central airways, and good peripheral visualization of the lung is obtained. The study was designed to assess whether Technegas could be used as a ventilatory agent to obtain high-quality diagnostic images. All studies were reported as in normal clinical practice, and no statistical analysis was performed. The aim of the study was simply to see what role Technegas had in a busy clinical department and how well it reflected ventilation by comparison with xenon. Patient compliance with Technegas was 100 percent and for xenon was 94 percent. Technegas enables one to obtain high-quality ventilatory images and has an important role to play in the assessment of pulmonary ventilation.