Drops in blood oxygen saturation level did occur, but were transient and resolved within 10-30 seconds of normal breathing. Further, there were no changes in heart rate during imaging, and any side effects related to xenon, such as tingling in extremities, dizziness, or euphoria, were also quickly resolved with normal breathing, she said.
“There were no serious adverse events related to the study ... these results are in good agreement with previously published safety assessments of xenon in kids and in adults, and at our institution we routinely perform xenon imaging in children as young as age 6,” she added.
The findings, which are consistent with those seen in studies of other conditions such as cystic fibrosis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, suggest that 129Xe MRI is an emerging modality with strong translational potential for detecting early pulmonary involvement following HSCT, she said.
“The real power of the xenon MRI is the spatial information that it provides; we can use that information to plan targeted procedures like bronchoscopy and biopsies ... and since it is non-ionizing, it may be used serially to assess disease progression or response to an intervention,” Dr. Walkup said.