HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Pierson, R. N. Articles by Roistacher, N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Pierson, R. N., Jr. Articles by Roistacher, N.

First-Third Ejection Fraction: Is the First-Pass Radionuclide Method Accurate

Department of Nuclear Medicine, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, New York, New York

Correspondence: For reprints contact: Richard Pierson, MD, Dept. of Nuclear Med., St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, Amsterdam Ave. at 114th St., New York, NY 10025.

ABSTRACT

Previous reports have suggested that left ventricular first-third ejection fraction (EF) can be obtained from the left ventricular time-activity curve derived from first-pass radionuclide angiography based on Anger camera data. The validity of this technique was assessed by: (a) a study of beat-to-beat variations in data from 15 patients in which electrocardiographic data were simultaneously recorded, and (b) a computer simulation incorporating the application of Poisson statistics to appropriate count rate data. The results of patient studies showed no consistent trend in any first-third parameter obtained from consecutive beats in individual subjects, and unacceptably high statistical uncertainty in the calculation of the first-third ejection fraction. The weighted standard deviation of the first-third ejection fraction in each of 15 patients studied averaged 7.5 EF units, while first-third ejection fraction averaged 22.9 EF units. The relative error averaged 32%. The computer simulation indicated a high relative error of 47% associated with the first-third ejection fraction at typical end-diastolic count rates of 200 per frame from 1,000 computer Poisson randomizations of an appropriate analog volume curve. The results render the first-pass radiocardiographic method invalid for determining first-third ejection fraction.