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Methods to Evaluate Cytotoxicity and Immunosuppression of Combustible Tobacco Product Preparations
Published on: January 10, 2015
Healthy passive cigarette smokers have increased pulmonary alveolar permeability
Clare Beadsmoore1, Heok K Cheow, Katherine Szczepura
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
Question:
Does passive smoking have a measurable effect on lung function in otherwise healthy subjects? There is current interest concerning passive smoking but no objective evidence showing that it has any impact on lung function.
Methods:
The pulmonary clearance rate of (99m)Tc-DTPA was measured in 21 healthy volunteers after inhalation as a radio-aerosol and compared between healthy cigarette smokers, passive smokers and non-smokers. All volunteers had normal lung function.
Results:
Clearance half-times in healthy passive smokers (n=5) were longer than in healthy smokers (n=6) but clearly shorter compared with healthy non-smokers (n=10) with respective mean values of 45.2 (SD 8.3), 24.3 (8.6) and 80.3 (20) min.
Conclusion:
Passive smoking has a functional impact on the lung blood/gas barrier.
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