A randomized study of the effect of carbonated water prior to myocardial SPECT

In myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), abdominal activity often interferes with the evaluation of perfusion in the inferior wall, especially after pharmacological stress. In this randomized study, we examined the effect of carbonated water intake versus still water intake on the quality of images obtained during myocardial perfusion images (MPI) studies.

A total of 467 MIBI studies were randomized into a carbonated water group and a water group. The presence of intestinal activity adjacent to the inferior wall was evaluated by two observers. Furthermore, a semi-quantitative analysis was performed in the adenosine subgroup, using a count ratio of the inferior myocardial wall and adjacent abdominal activity.

The need for repeated SPECT in the adenosine studies was 5.3% in the carbonated water group versus 19.4% in the still water group (p = 0.019). The inferior wall-to-abdomen count ratio was significantly higher in the carbonated water group compared to the still water group (2.11 ± 1.00 vs. 1.72 ± 0.73, p < 0.001). The effect of carbonated water during rest and after exercise was not significant.

This randomized study showed that carbonated water significantly reduced the interference of extra-cardiac activity in adenosine SPECT MPI.