Quantitation of shunting at the atrial level using rapid acquisition computed tomography with comparison with cardiac catheterization

• Published in: Journal of the American College of Cardiology Vol. 7; no. 4; pp. 946 - 948
• Main Authors: Macmillan, Robert M., Rees, Michael R., Eldredge, W. Jay, Maranhao, Vladir, Clark, Donald L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.04.1986; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Flow Velocity; Cardiac Catheterization; Cardiology. Vascular system; Congenital heart diseases. Malformations of the aorta, pulmonary vessels and vena cava; Heart; Heart Atria - diagnostic imaging; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial - diagnostic imaging; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial - physiopathology; Hemodynamics; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Human; Heart; Catheterization; Congenital; Radiodiagnosis; Right to left shunt; Cardiovascular disease; Heart disease; Atrial septal defect; Adult; Computerized axial tomography; Hemodynamics; Comparative study; Left to right shunt
• ISSN: 0735-1097; 1558-3597
• DOI: 10.1016/S0735-1097(86)80362-X

Contrast-enhanced rapid acquisition computed tomography was employed to quantitate intracardiac shunts in two adult patients. Contrast medium was injected through a median antecubital vein and data were accumulated using the R wave-triggered flow mode. Timedensity curves from a region of interest were generated by a gamma variate fit method and areas under the curves were calculated. Comparisons of calculated left to right shunts (Cases 1 and 2) with results of computed tomography and right to left shunt (Case 2) with cardiac catheterization data resulted in close agreement. This is the first report of quantitation of intracardiac shunts at the atrial level in humans by rapid acquisition computed tomography.