[Radionuclide diagnosis of interstitial pulmonary edema]

Perfusion scintigraphy of the lungs has shown that a reverse direction of postural reactions of the pulmonary blood flow is observed in patients with mitral valvular disease: perfusion of the upper lung rather than the lower lung increases. It is accounted for by the action of gravitation on capillary hydrostatic pressure resulting in the localization of interstitial edema in pulmonary venous hypertension mainly in the lower lung, its microcirculatory bed being compressed and the blood flow redistributed to the opposite upper lung. Therefore successive perfusion scintigraphy of the lungs in the vertical position and in the lateral position with a RP administered twice, can serve as a sensitive test for diagnosis of interstitial lung edema in various pathological conditions.