Superior intensity and reproducibility of SHU-454, a new right heart contrast agent.

Intravenous injection of a variety of fluids has been shown to produce right heart contrast by ultrasound, but the intensity and reproducibility achieved are variable. Thus, a new polysaccharide agent being developed for commercial distribution, SHU-454, was quantitatively compared for intensity and variability with agitated saline solution, indocyanine green, carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide. Videodensitometry was used to measure peak and total opacification of the right ventricle after peripheral intravenous contrast administration. One hundred eighty injections were performed in nine closed chest dogs while two-dimensional echograms were recorded. SHU-454 yielded the highest peak (p less than 0.001) and total (p less than 0.005) intensity values when compared with the standard agents. In addition, SHU-454 yielded the lowest coefficient of variation between injections (p less than 0.04) in producing this contrast effect. There were no biologically significant changes in heart rate, blood pressure or arterial blood gases during injection of any of the substances used. A newly developed agent, SHU-454, is superior to standard agents in the ability to reliably produce right heart contrast after venous injection in dogs.