Radionuclide evaluation of right and left ventricular function in children: validation of methodology.

Validation of an equilibrium radionuclide technique for assessing right and left ventricle function has not been reported in children with heart disease. Resting equilibrium radionuclide ventriculograms were performed in 71 children with diverse types of heart disease (age range 1 to 19 years, mean 10.2) with exercise studies in 52 of the children. Cardiac catheterization was performed in 39 of the 71 children within 2 weeks of radionuclide study. Resting left and right ventricular ejection fractions from radionuclide study and catheterization were compared by linear regression analysis: right ventricular ejection fraction, r = 0.83; left ventricular ejection fraction, r = 0.90. Interobserver correlations for right and left ventricular ejection fractions were 0.93 and 0.94, respectively. With exercise, the interobserver correlations for right and left ventricle were 0.97 and 0.92, respectively. Thus, right and left ventricular ejection fractions showed good correlations with cineangiographic ejection fractions. Furthermore, it was possible to perform this study in exercising children with no deterioration in interobserver correlations. This technique can provide important information on ventricular function in children and aid in long-term evaluation of current methods of treatment for several congenital heart defects.