Comparison of thallium-201 and gallium-67 citrate scintigraphy in the diagnosis of pulmonary disease.

Gallium is presently used in the diagnosis of inflammatory, granulomatous, and neoplastic lung disease despite its many logistical problems. In contrast, thallium-201 scintigraphy, which was initially developed for myocardial imaging, offers the principal advantage of immediate imaging and diagnosis although it had not been investigated previously for use in pulmonary disease. In this study, thallium and gallium were prospectively compared with each other for the diagnosis of a variety of lung diseases. The overall concordance rate was 75%. Thallium was found to be significantly more sensitive than gallium for the entire group studied (N = 51, p < 0.006). In a subset of patients in whom a firm diagnosis was established, thallium was also found to be more sensitive, 86% vs 64%. The greater sensitivity of thallium-201 and its several inherent advantages suggest that thallium-201 should replace gallium-67 citrate as the radioisotope of choice for nuclear imaging of the chest.