RADIONUCLIDE RIGHT TO LEFT CARDIAC SHUNT EVALUATION

DATE: 4/14/2006

PROCEDURE:  After IV administration of Tc99m macroaggregates of albumin (MAA), anterior projection images of the lungs and brain were acquired, as well as posterior projection images of the kidneys.  Regions of interest were drawn over these organs to calculate the percent right-to-left cardiac shunt, assuming a cardiac output of 100% for the lungs, 15% for the brain and 24 % for the kidneys.

99mTc MAA DOSE: [1.2] mCi

CORRELATIVE STUDIES: Chest X-ray dated […].

COMPARISON: None.

CLINICAL HISTORY: The patient is a [...]-year-old [fe]male [...], now presenting with chronic hypoxemia. The patient is now referred for evaluation of right-to-left shunt.

FINDINGS: There is normal perfusion to the bilateral lungs with no significant tracer accumulation in the brain or bilateral kidneys.  

Percent shunt fraction, with kidneys: […]%.

Percent shunt fraction, without kidneys: […]%.

CONCLUSIONS: 

No evidence for significant right-to-left shunt. The percent shunt fraction is […]%, which is within normal limits and is not significantly different from the prior study. 

Thank you for referring this patient to the UCLA Nuclear Medicine Clinic.

I, […], M.D., Ph.D., have reviewed this Nuclear Medicine study personally, and am in full agreement with the findings of the report presented here.