Determination of left to right shunt by thermodilution in patients with ventricular septal defect.
A modified thermodilution technique was used to determine the quantity of shunt in patients suffering from congenital heart disease with a left to right shunt. In our modification, the thermistor was placed within the pulmonary artery and an indicator was injected into both sides of the heart. In a series of 33 cardiac catheterizations in children (1-17 years) with ventricular septal defect (VSD), pulmonary blood flow (Qp), systemic blood flow (Qs) and the ratio of Qp to Qs (Qp/Qs) were determined by this and ordinary oximetry (Fick) methods. Correlation coefficients between indexes obtained by these methods were 0.54 (Qp), 0.78 (Qs), and 0.75 (Qp/Qs). The estimates of Qp and Qp/Qs obtained by thermodilution were smaller than those obtained by the Fick method. This modification of thermodilution is simple, rapid, and useful in clinical practice.
Saitoh
M
M
Department of Pediatrics, Fukui Medical School, Japan.
Sudoh
M
M
Haneda
N
N
Watanabe
K
K
Kajino
Y
Y
Mori
C
C
D000328:Adult; D001775:Blood Circulation; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010092:Oximetry; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011652:Pulmonary Circulation; D013815:Thermodilution / Q000379:methods