Fig. 4.

Time course of the clearance of pleural adhesions after IPFT by USS. Changes in the USS with time following IPFT with MEDs of either scuPA (n = 6, ○) and sctPA (n = 6, ▽) with US imaging only (A) and in combination with serial CT scanning (scuPA, n = 6, ○, and sctPA, n = 4, ▽) (B). 48 h after induction of pleural injury with TCN, animals were treated with 0.5 mg/kg scuPA (n = 12) or 0.145 mg/kg tPA (n = 10), and the level of injury was assessed using US, as described in materials and methods, and as previously reported (14). The dotted line (USS = 10) and the right axis represent the ranges of USS for successful (USS < 10) and unsuccessful (10 < USS ≤ 50) IPFT. The data are presented as box plots using the same format as described in the legend of Fig. 1.