THE TWO-CATHETER TECHNIQUE IN INDICATOR-DILUTION CARDIOVASCULAR STUDIES

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Abstract
A study of the in-dicator dilution curve as recorded from the right side of the heart is presented. Sixty-two patients were studied with the two-catheter technique. Injection of the indicator with this technique is made distal to the shunt and the sampling site immediately proximal to the left-to-right shunt. In all cases it was possible to localize accurately a left-to-right shunt based on the early appearance curve just preceding the main venous curve. This method is also useful in detecting the presence of valvular regurgitation. In the presence of regurgitation, the early appearance curve precedes the main venous curve by several seconds making the differentiation between regurgitant and left-to-right shunt curves easily available. This technique is especially useful to locate precisely the origin of the anomalous pulmonary venous drainage. In most cases, it is possible to identify its lobar origin. A comparison of this method is made with the blood oxygen content method of detecting a left-to-right shunt and the disadvantage of oxygen determination is emphasized.