Key result
Thermodilution accurately determines stroke volume but fails to reliably measure RVEF or ventricular volumes.
Why the study?
Is thermodilution an accurate and reproducible method for measuring right ventricular ejection fraction compared to radionuclide ventriculography and angiography in patients undergoing right heart catheterization?
Observational (n=41)
Is thermodilution an accurate and reproducible method for measuring right ventricular ejection fraction compared to radionuclide ventriculography and angiography in patients undergoing right heart catheterization?
Effect estimate: r = 0.88
While thermodilution accurately measures flow, it is not an accurate method for measuring right ventricular ejection fraction or ventricular volumes, likely due to incomplete mixing.
Thermodilution lacks accuracy for right ventricular ejection fraction and volumes; leaves open need for validated alternatives in catheterization.
This study addressed the clinical reproducibility and validity of the thermodilution (TD) measurement of the right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF). Forty-one patients underwent right heart catheterization, including TD RVEF, within 2 h of gated first pass (GFP) and gated blood pool (GBP) radionuclide ventriculography; 21 had single plane contrast right ventricular angiography (ANGIO) during the same catheterization. Analysis of variance showed no difference among three successive TD RVEF measurements. (table; see text) Stroke volume by RV ANGIO correlated with Fick (n = 10, r = .86) and thermodilution stroke volume (n = 21, r = .88). It is concluded that although the thermodilution method is an accurate way to measure flow, it is not an accurate way to measure right ventricular ejection fraction, and by inference, ventricular volumes. The most likely explanation for this finding is incomplete mixing as in previous studies of indicator methods of measuring left ventricular volumes.
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Morrison et al. (1987) reported an observational. Thermodilution measurement vs. Radionuclide ventriculography and right ventricular angiography was evaluated on Correlation of stroke volume by right ventricular angiography with thermodilution stroke volume (r = 0.88). Thermodilution measurement accurately determines stroke volume (r=0.88 vs angiography) but is not an accurate method for measuring right ventricular ejection fraction or ventricular volumes.
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