Gastric emptying of solids and its relationship with microalbuminuria in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: The aims of the present study were to determine the frequency of delayed gastric emptying in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and to investigate the relationship between gastric emptying rate and other contributing factors (e.g. serum HbA1c, duration of diabetes and microalbuminuria) in these patients. METHODS: This was a clinical trial evaluating the rate of gastric emptying of solid meals in 33 children and adolescents with T1DM and in 26 healthy peers using a radionuclide method. Three consecutive overnight urine collections were used to calculate the albumin excretion rate. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the gastric half-emptying time (GE t½ ) between patients and controls (151.7 ± 154.5 vs 109.8 ± 60.5 min, respectively; P=0.885) or the frequency of delayed gastric emptying (36.4% vs 30.8%, respectively; P=0.433). There was a moderately positive correlation between GE t½ and the duration of diabetes (r=0.380; P=0.029). There was no correlation between GE t½ and microalbumin levels in T1DM patients. In these patients, the body mass index standard deviation scores were significantly lower than in patients with normal gastric emptying (-0.13 ± 0.87 vs 0.7 ± 1.23, respectively; P=0.044). CONCLUSION: Progression of delayed gastric emptying is more likely to be related to a longer duration of diabetes than glycemic control in children and adolescents with T1DM. Patients with delayed gastric emptying are thinner compared with patients with a normal rate of gastric emptying; they may also be asymptomatic.

Technetium-99m-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime lung scintigraphy findings in patients with Behçet's disease.

AIM: Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystem disorder that is characterized by vasculitis, and consists of a triad of recurrent ulcers of the oral and genital mucosa with relapsing uveitis. The prevalence of pulmonary involvement varies in the range of 1-10% in various studies, and its complications are severe and life threatening. To objectively assess the degree of pulmonary vascular endothelial damage in BD, the lung uptake, and the clearance rate of technetium-99m-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (Tc-99m-HMPAO) were determined. METHODS: Twenty-three nonsmoking patients with BD (10 female, 13 male) and 11 (six female, five male) healthy nonsmoking controls underwent Tc-99m-HMPAO lung scanning, pulmonary function tests (PFT), chest radiograph examination, contrast-enhanced spiral chest computed tomography scanning, and high-resolution computed tomography examinations. Immediately after the bolus injection of 740 MBq of Tc-99m-HMPAO posterior sequential images were obtained at 1-s intervals for 150 s and subsequent images were obtained at one frame per minute (min) over a 10-min period, using a double-headed gamma camera equipped with a low-energy all-purpose parallel hole collimator. Dynamic images were used to calculate the Tc-99m-HMPAO lung clearance rate (T1/2). Simultaneously, a static anterior image, including a large part of the liver, was obtained of 5-min duration at 10 min after the injection. Regular regions of interests were drawn over the midportion of the right lung and the highest activity area of the liver parenchyma was selected and lung/liver (L/Li) uptake ratios were calculated to represent the degree of pulmonary vascular endothelial damage. RESULTS: Chest radiograph, high-resolution computed tomography, and computed tomography findings in patients with BD were nonspecific for BD. There was also a statistically significant difference between patients with BD (30.26 ± 10.55 s) and normal controls (19.53 ± 6.24 s) on their T1/2 values (P = 0.0004). The results show that the L/Li ratios on the Tc-99m-HMPAO lung scan were significantly higher in patients with BD (0.60 ± 0.19) than those in normal controls (0.39 ± 0.07) (P = 0.0021). Using a cutoff value of 0.50, 15 of 23 (65%) patients with BD had increased L/Li ratios. No correlation was found between the mean T1/2 values of Tc-99m-HMPAO clearance and the PFT in patients with BD. The L/Li ratios were not correlated with PFT in patients with BD. CONCLUSION: The degree of pulmonary vascular endothelial damage was represented as increased L/Li ratios and decreased lung clearance rate measured on the Tc-99m-HMPAO lung scan in patients with BD. Our results indicated that determining the T1/2 values and the L/Li ratios on Tc-99m-HMPAO lung imaging should be an objective method to assess subclinical pulmonary damage even in the early stages of BD in the patients.

Assessment of alveolar epithelial permeability in Behçet's disease with 99mTc-DTPA aerosol scintigraphy.

OBJECTIVE: Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystem disorder characterized by vasculitis, and consists of a triad of recurrent ulcers of the oral and genital mucosa with relapsing uveitis. The prevalance of pulmonary involvement varies in the range of 1-10% in various studies and its complications are severe and life threatening. In this study, we investigated the changes of pulmonary epithelial permeability of patients with BD using technetium-99m diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid ((99m)Tc-DTPA) aerosol scintigraphy, so as to begin the therapy regimen as soon as possible. METHODS: Twenty-one nonsmoking patients with BD (8 women, 13 men; mean age 38.67 +/- 8.86 years) and 15 healthy volunteer nonsmoking controls (8 women, 7 men; mean age 50.87 +/- 12.45 years) underwent (99m)Tc-DTPA aerosol inhalation scintigraphy and pulmonary function tests (PFTs). Subjects inhaled 1480 MBq of (99m)Tc-DTPA for 4 min in the supine position. Scintigraphic data were recorded dynamically (1 frame/min) in the posterior projection on a 64 x 64 matrix for a 30-min period using a double-headed gamma camera (Infinia, GE, Tirat Hacarmel, Israel) equipped with a low-energy all-purpose parallel hole collimator. Half time of (99m)Tc-DTPA clearance (T (1/2)) was calculated by placing a mono-exponential fit on the curves. Penetration index (PI) was also calculated by dividing the peripheral total counts by the sum of the peripheral and central total counts on the first minute image, in order to quantify the distribution of the inhaled aerosol. RESULTS: The clearance half time of (99m)Tc-DTPA radioaerosols in the BD patients (24.81 +/- 6.22 min) was faster than in the normal control group (46.53 +/- 22.41 min) (P = 0.004). There was also a significant difference between PI of the patients with BD (0.15 +/- 0.03) and that of the controls (0.21 +/- 0.06) (P = 0.002). No correlation was found between the mean T (1/2) values of (99m)Tc-DTPA clearance or the spirometric measurements in the BD patients. Penetration indices were not correlated with PFT in the BD patients. CONCLUSIONS: Lung epithelial permeability of the patients with BD was significantly higher than that of the normal subjects. The results of this study demonstrated that the assessment of lung epithelial permeability using (99m)Tc-DTPA aerosol scintigraphy could predict the presence of lung involvement in the early stages of BD.