Effects of Injection Site on the Accuracy of Thermal Washout Right Ventricular Ejection Fraction Measurements in Clinical and Model Investigations

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to improve the accuracy of measurement of thermal right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) using the modified Swan-Ganz catheter. Three serial ejection fractions (EFs) (EF1, 2, 3) and the mean were calculated, based on Holt's theory. RVEFs were compared between right ventricular (RV) and atrial (RA) injection in ten intensive care unit (ICU) patients using a modified catheter having RV and RA orifices (15 cm and 30 cm from the distal end, respectively), and paired duplicate (two patients) or triplicate (eight patients) measurements were performed. To determine what factors interfere with RVEF, a model heart (with diastolic volume of 150 ml) was constructed, in which model injection of cold water to the direct inflow tract (RA), to the direct mixing chamber (RV), or through the catheter running in the inflow tract were compared. When EFs were compared between RV and RA injection, those for the former were greater (RV vs RA in EF1 and EFmean: 0.46 +/- 0.15 vs 0.23 +/- 0.11 in EF1, and 0.45 +/- 0.13 vs 0.28 +/- 0.11 in EFmean, mean +/- SD, p less than 0.01). When the serial EFs were compared in each injection type, in the RV injection EF3 was the smallest as was EF1 in the RA injection. The same phenomenon was observed in the model as in the patients, and moreover when cold water was injected in RA through a catheter running through the circuit, EFs were greatly underestimated (EF1 = 0.29 +/- 0.02 at preset EF = 0.4). We conclude that these phenomena were caused by sluggish movement of the cold indicator from RA to RV when injected into RA, and by interference with the cooled cardiac chamber and catheter. Consequently, the first or second EFs obtained from RV injection might be closest to the actual values because of the least interference with those factors.