Indium-111 labelled pooled human immunoglobulin imaging to monitor the efficacy of specific therapy for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

Functional imaging is ideally suited to monitoring the effect of specific therapy on disease processes. In this pilot study five patients with AIDS and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) were imaged with Indium-111 labelled pooled human immunoglobulin (111In-HIG) during infection and after therapy for PCP. The lung activity of 111In-HIG, measured as a lung/heart ratio, was calculated in a study performed during infection with PCP and after therapy. In all five patients the lung/heart ratio of 111In-HIG was reduced after treatment. The mean reduction in heart/lung ratio was 27% (range 12%-53%). If these results are confirmed by a larger study, 111In-HIG will be useful in monitoring the response of PCP to therapy in patients with AIDS.