[Scanning in progessive pulmonary failure (shock-lung): preliminary results of a clinical study]

Lung scanning was performed on five patients with shock lung. It gave no evidence of morphological (pre-capillary) arterio-venous shunts or of increased pulmonary arterial pressure. Nor was there evidence of perfusion-ventilation inequality in the scan. The cause of the progressive pulmonary insufficiency was most likely due to maldistribution of gases in the microscopic region and to diffusion abnormalities.