Clinical Observation of Bronchography with Propyliodone (Dionosil)

¹ Chief, Tuberculosis Department, Taiwan Veterans General Hospital
² Visiting Physician, Tuberculosis Department, Taiwan Veterans General Hospital

1. The Tuberculosis Department of the Veterans General Hospital of Taiwan had used propyliodone for bronchography 273 times since March, 1959.

2. Intratracheal intubation is the method of choice for bronchography. The contrast medium, after being injected into the trachea, will map out the entire bronchial tree including the upper lobe, after three to four deep inspirations. Head-down positioning is not necessary.

3. Propyliodone will not remain in the bronchial tree too long; 38.2 per cent of it was completely absorbed within 24 hours, about 75 per cent within 72 hours.

4. Using propyliodone for bronchography may produce fever, cough, shortness, of breath, asthmatic attacks and epigastric pain in some patients, but these symptoms were usually mild and disappeared shortly. In our series, five cases developed pneumonitis; among them, 2 (1.1 per cent) after propyliodone oily and 3 (3.2 per cent) after using propyliodone aqueous.

6. Propyliodone used for bronchography has no adverse effect on active pulmonary tuberculosis.