Quantification of intracardiac shunts by gold-195m, a new radionuclide with a short half life.

Gold-195m, a radionuclide with a short half life (30.5 s) was used to quantify left to right intracardiac shunts. The results of this method were compared with those obtained with technetium-99m, a method that was validated against oximetry. In five patients the pulmonary to systemic flow ratio (greater than 3:1) obtained by both radionuclides indicated that the level of shunting was too high to be measured accurately. In one patient fragmentation of the bolus meant that no satisfactory gamma fit could be obtained. In the remaining 16 patients there was no significant difference between two successive 195mAu studies. The agreement between 99mTc results and 195mAu results was excellent. Oxygen administration, straight leg raising exercise, and the use of oblique projections did not affect the values of the pulmonary to systemic flow ratio. The technique of quantification of intracardiac shunts by 195mAu gives reproducible and accurate results and the low radiation dose means that it is suitable for use in children with suspected left to right shunts.