Pulmonary involvement in Behcet's disease: evaluation of I-123-MIBG retention

Pulmonary involvement in Behcet's disease (BD) is reported to indicate poor prognosis and high mortality. Our aim was to evaluate the pulmonary vascul ar status in BID. As I-123-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (I-123- MlBG) shares th e same uptake, storage and release mechanisms as norepinephrine, associated with the functional state of pulmonary endothelium, it may reflect endothe lial injury. Twenty-five patients (13 males, 12 females; mean age, 36.44 years) and 12 a ge-matched controls were included. After intravenous injection of I-123-MIB G, thorax images were taken at 15 min and 4 h. Appropriate regions of inter est were drawn, and heart to mediastinum. (H/M) ratios and lung retention i ndices (LRI) were calculated. The difference between the LRI of controls (75.6+/-4%) and patients (87.7+/ -10%) was found to be extremely significant (P<0.005). The LRIs of active ( 92.85+/-12%) and inactive (83.65+/-5%) states of BID were significantly dif ferent (P < 0.05) from each other. There was no significant difference betw een the H / M ratios of controls (2.4 +/- 0.27) and patients (2.39 +/- 0.31 ) or between patients in active and inactive disease states. Our study reve aled prolonged lung retention of I-123-MIBG in BD, probably reflecting the severity of the disease. In conclusion, I-123-MIBG lung retention is a valuable finding in the evalu ation of pulmonary vascular status and may be a potential marker of prognos is in BD, ((C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins).