Clinical use of ultrashort-lived radionuclide krypton-81m for noninvasive analysis of right ventricular performance in normal subjects and patients with right ventricular dysfunction

Journal Article · Fri Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1985 · J. Am. Coll. Cardiol.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0735-1097(85)80395-8· OSTI ID:5680069

Nienaber, C A; Spielmann, R P; Wasmus, G; Mathey, D G; Montz, R; Bleifeld, W H

The ultrashort-lived radionuclide krypton-81m, eluted in 5% dextrose from a bedside rubidium-81m generator, was intravenously infused for rapid imaging of the right-sided heart chambers in the right anterior oblique projection adjusted for optimal right atrioventricular separation. Left-sided heart and lung background was minimized by rapid decay and efficient exhalation of krypton-81m, requiring no algorithm for background correction. A double region of interest method decreased the variability in the assessment of ejection fraction to 5%. In 10 normal subjects, 11 patients with pulmonary hypertension, 4 patients with right ventricular outflow tract obstruction and 4 patients with right ventricular infarction, right ventricular ejection fraction determined by krypton-81m equilibrium blood pool imaging ranged from 14 to 76%. The correlation between these values and those determined by cineangiography according to Simpson's rule was close: r . 0.93 for all data points, r . 0.92 for studies at rest and r . 0.93 for exercise studies. Exercise-related changes in right ventricular function revealed a disturbed functional reserve with pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular infarction, whereas in compensated right ventricular outflow tract obstruction there was a physiologic increase in ejection fraction with exercise. Thus, equilibrium-gated right ventricular imaging using ultrashort-lived krypton-81m is a simple, accurate and reproducible method with potential for serial assessment of right ventricular ejection fraction in a variety of right ventricular anatomic and functional abnormalities, both at rest and during exercise. Advantages of this method include an extremely low radiation dose to patients and clear right atrioventricular separation without the need to correct for background activity.

• Research Organization: Univ. Hospital Eppendorf, Hamburg, West Germany
• OSTI ID: 5680069
• Journal Information: J. Am. Coll. Cardiol.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Am. Coll. Cardiol.; (United States) Vol. 5:3; ISSN JACCD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550601* -- Medicine-- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CARDIOGRAPHY
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DIAGNOSTIC USES
DISEASES
DOSES
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXERCISE
FEMALES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOMERIC NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
KRYPTON 81
KRYPTON ISOTOPES
MALES
MAMMALS
MAN
MEN
NUCLEI
PATIENTS
PRIMATES
RADIATION DOSES
RADIOISOTOPE GENERATORS
RADIOISOTOPES
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
USES
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES