A comparison of xenon-133 clearance with electromagnetic flowmeters and an indicator dilution method for the measurement of liver blood flow.

Measurement of liver blood flow has been carried out by three different methods in 14 dogs to assess the accuracy of xenon-133 clearance following portal vein injection. Electromagnetic flowmetry with flow probes on the hepatic artery and portal vein resulted in a mean value of 121.9 +/- 39.3 ml min-1 100 g-1. An indicator dilution study utilizing chromium-51-labelled red cells gave a mean value of 119.4 +/- 31.4 ml min-1 100 g-1 and the xenon-133 clearance following portal vein injection, 120.3 +/- 33.8 ml min-1 100 g-1. One-way analysis of variance showed no statistically significant variation between these three groups. There was a close correlation between xenon-133 clearance and electromagnetic flowmetry and between xenon-133 clearance and the indicator dilution technique. These data suggest that xenon-133 clearance following portal vein injection gives an accurate assessment of liver blood flow and this technique (as well as direct parenchymal injection) can be adapted for clinical use.