Leg arteritis exploration by quantitative muscle scintigraphy with 201Tl.

Detection and localization of peripheral arterial disease was evaluated by an intravenous injection of 201Tl at peak exercise in 18 subjects and at rest in 6 patients. Images of the skull (S), thighs (T), knees (K), calves (C) and feet (F) were obtained at rest or after exercise and stored in a computer. Intraleg (T/K, T/C, T/F), and left to right interleg (TL/TR,...) count ratios were calculated. In addition, all patients were submitted to routine functional tests (walk perimeter, serial local arterial blood pressure measurement, Strandness test, venous occlusion plethysmography). Correlations between functional tests and the intra and interleg ratios were calculated. After exercise, there is a medium correlation between the tissular blood flow under hyperemia at the calf level and the T/C and C/K ratios. At the calf level a good correlation is obtained for CL/CR and the flux under hyperemia (r = 0.81, P 0.001). A ratio between the counting rates of limb segments after exercise and those of skull was established. The ratios T/S and C/S compared with the systolic pressure index of the most affected limb after a Strandness test give a correlation of 0.72 (P 0.02) for the thigh and of 0.86 (P 0.001) for the calf. For hyperemic flux, the correlation are 0.58 (P 0.005) with T/S and 0.75 (P 0.001) with C/S. In order to find the best quantitative scintigraphic index of the arterial illness, we compared the different ratio values with the distance walked. For T/S we found a relationship very close to a linear one and for C/S a less significant exponential one. Thus, quantitative scintigraphy using 201Tl appears as an accurate method to measure local muscular perfusion deficit in the cases of lower limb arterial disease.