title: Ventricular ejection fraction in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy calculated by gated blood pool SPET processing software: correlation with multigated acquisition and first pass radionuclide ventriculography.
abstract: This study was performed to find out the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)  by using commercially available automated gated blood pool scintigraphy (GBPS) processing software and to correlate it with first pass radionuclide ventriculography (FPRNV)  and planar multigated acquisition (MUGA). However, till date, no literature exists studying the application of GBPS and planar radionuclide ventriculography techniques in the setting of patients  with DCM as a single cohort. Forty-one patients having DCM were prospectively included in the study. First pass RNV and MUGA were performed at rest after in-vivo labeling of red blood cells in all patients.  Immediately after obtaining the planar views, GBPS was performed and LVEF and RVEF were calculated. Our results showed that the %LVEF values (mean±SD) calculated by MUGA, GBPS and echo  cardiography were 31±11, 34±12 and 32±11, respectively. The % RVEF values (mean±SD) calculated by FPRNV and GBPS were 46±14 and 43±17, respectively. The LVEF values calculated by  MUGA, GBPS and echcardiography showed very good correlation r=0.924 and r=0.844, respectively and for both P <0.0001. Bland-Altman plot showed overestimation for LVEF  (and a tendency for overestimation of RVEF) values calculated by GBPS compared to MUGA. Values of RVEF calculated by GBPS and FPRNV also showed good correlation (r=0.88; P< 0.0001).  In conclusion, the automated GBPS for LVEF and RVEF calculation using GBPS SPET can be routinely applied in DCM patients. Given the practical difficulties with FPRNV like good bolus administration,  quantitative blood pool SPET (QBPS) can be used to calculate RVEF. Similarly MUGA and GBPS can be used to calculate LVEF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh-160 012, India. brmittal@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Bhagwant Rai
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Mittal
authors.forename: Sampath
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santhosh
authors.forename: Raghava
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kashyap
authors.forename: Anish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.forename: Baljinder
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bahl
mesh_terms: D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated; D015637:Gated Blood-Pool Imaging; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software; D013318:Stroke Volume; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D015646:Ventriculography, First-Pass