Hepatic blood flow measurement with inert gas clearance

Journal Article · Tue Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986 · J. Surg. Res.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-4804(86)90014-4· OSTI ID:5008093

Mathie, R T

Inert gas clearance has been used for 20 years to measure hepatic blood flow. Injection of a saline solution of /sup 85/Kr or /sup 133/Xe is usually made via the PV, and the resulting hepatic clearance is monitored with a Geiger-Mueller tube, scintillation crystal, or gamma camera. Complex slow components in /sup 133/Xe clearance curves, once believed to indicate a correspondingly complex hepatic microcirculation, are now considered to be caused by nonhepatic radioactivity. Normal liver is therefore believed to receive a homogeneous perfusion throughout the depth of tissue in any given region. HA blood and PV blood are normally completely mixed in the hepatic sinusoids. Macroscopic variations in tissue perfusion may exist in different lobes of the liver in both animals and man. The technique expresses flow in units of milliliters per minute per 100 g. Accurate and acceptably reproducible results have been obtained after PV injection of isotope; fast component analysis of /sup 133/Xe clearance is most appropriate, while beta detection of /sup 85/Kr yields a simple monoexponential curve. Normal hepatic blood flow in dogs and in man is 100-130 ml min-1 100 g-1. Employing sites of isotope administration other than the PV produces inaccurate results unless appropriate corrections are made. Accuracy of flow measurement is critically dependent on a knowledge of the partition coefficient of the gas used. Liver disease per se does not affect measurement accuracy, and many practical features make the technique an attractive tool for the measurement of hepatic hemodynamics in man. Nevertheless, it is essential that the investigator be aware of certain limitations of the method, and carefully apply current concepts of clearance curve analysis and interpretation, in order to derive maximum advantage.

• Research Organization: Hammersmith Hospital, London, England
• OSTI ID: 5008093
• Journal Information: J. Surg. Res.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Surg. Res.; (United States) Vol. 1; ISSN JSGRA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550601* -- Medicine-- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BLOOD FLOW
BODY
CAMERAS
CLEARANCE
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
GAMMA CAMERAS
GLANDS
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
KRYPTON 85
KRYPTON ISOTOPES
LIVER
MEASURING METHODS
NUCLEI
ORGANS
RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING
RADIOISOTOPES
SCINTISCANNING
SOLUBILITY
XENON 133
XENON ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES