Videodensitometric ejection fraction from intravenous digital subtraction right ventriculograms: correlation with first pass radionuclide ejection fraction

Thirty-one consecutive patients undergoing intravenous blurred mask digital subtraction right ventriculography were submitted to first pass radionuclide angiography. Second order mask resubtraction of end-diastolic and end-systolic right ventricular digital image frames was executed using preinjection end-diastolic and end-systolic frames to rid the digital subtraction images of mis-registration artifact. End-diastolic and end-systolic perimeters were drawn manually by two independent observers with a light pen. Ejection fractions calculated from the integrated videodensitometric counts within these perimeters correlated well with those derived from the first pass radionuclide right ventriculogram (r = 0.84) and the interobserver correlation was acceptable (r = 0.91). Interobserver differences occurred more frequently in patients with atrial fibrillation and in those whose tricuspid valve planes were difficult to discern on the digital subtraction right ventriculograms. These results suggest that videodensitometric analysis of digital subtraction right ventriculograms is an accurate method of determining right ventricular ejection fraction and may find wide clinical applicability.