Arteriovenous Shunts in Cirrhotic Patients Studied with Human Serum Albumin Macroaggregates Tagged with I131(MAA131I)

Abstract
Experiences with injection of human serum albumin macroaggregates (MAA131I) in some afferent vessels of pulmonary, peripheral, and visceral circulations of cirrhotic patients have demonstrated the presence of arteriovenous shunts greater than 25 microns. Particularly demonstrative are the observations concerning the pulmonary circulation of 22 cirrhotic patients. Comparison of the radioactivity curves obtained in cirrhotic patients with those of controls shows the validity of the method used. More extensive studies are requested to achieve a more complete understanding of intrasplenic, mesenteric, and intrahepatic anastomoses in controls and in cirrhotic patients.