Background:
Positron emission tomography (pet) with inhaled oxygen 15-labeled carbon monoxide (co) is used as a marker of myocardial blood pool. only a limited number of studies with small numbers of patients have reported on the assessment of left ventricular (lv) volumes by use of o-15-labeled co. the aim of this study was to compare lv volumes and function as measured by routinely acquired blood pool images by use of gated o-15-labeled co pet with the reference technique, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (mri).
Methods and results:
Thirty-four subjects with a varying degree of lv function were studied. lv end-diastolic volume (lvedv), lv end-systolic volume (lvesv), and lv ejection fraction (lvef) were determined by both mri and gated pet by use of o-15-labeled co. volumes were comparable with respect to lvedv (196 +/- 83 and 192 +/- 91 ml, respectively; p = not significant). lvesv, however, was slightly overestimated by pet (119 +/- 85 and 136 +/- 94 ml, respectively; p < .05), resulting in a significant underestimation of lvef (44% +/- 19% and 35% +/- 18%, respectively; p < .05). observed correlations for lvedv, lvesv, and lvef were 0.90, 0.96, and 0.86, respectively (all p < .01).
Conclusions:
Gated o-15-labeled co pet measurements of lvedv, lvesv, and lvef show good correlation with mri over a wide range of lv volumes during routinely acquired blood pool images. lvef, however, may be underestimated compared with mri.