A dual-radioisotope technique for the evaluation of penile blood flow during tumescence.
A technique is described for concomitant study of both arterial and venous penile blood flow during tumescence. Dual-isotope acquisition is started after labeling red cells in vivo with 99mTc. Xenon-133 in saline is then injected into the corpus cavernosum followed with vasoactive drugs to induce an erection. The resulting xenon and technetium time-activity curves are inputs for a one-compartment model. In 14 subjects, the average peak arterial flow rate (PAF) for normal males was calculated as 13.0 +/- 1.28 ml/min (avg +/- s.d.) compared to 16.1 +/- 5.14 and 5.02 +/- 1.78 ml/min for patients with venous leak (VL) or arterial insufficiency (AI), respectively. Peak venous flows (PVF) were 4.25 +/- 1.17, 12.1 +/- 3.75, and 3.78 +/- 1.00 ml/min for normal, VL and AL respectively. Al patients have significantly lower PAF than normal (p = 0.002) or VL patients (p = 0.018), and VL patients had significantly higher PVF than normal (p = 0.012) or Al (p = 0.018). The technique may be helpful in the study of impotence.
Miraldi
F
F
Department of Radiology, CWRU, School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.
Nelson
A D
AD
Jones
W T
WT
Thompson
S
S
Kursh
E D
ED
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001158:Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000502:physiology*; D010413:Penis / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011875:Radionuclide Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013667:Technetium; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014680:Veins / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes
D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes; D013667:Technetium