Importance of adequate gas-mixing in contrast echocardiography

Microbubble formation has been accepted as the mechanism producing contrast echoes. Comparisons of the contrast effects of various agents have been studied extensively, but the importance of gas-mixing has been less appreciated. To test the hypothesis that good gas-mixing, by facilitating microbubble formation, would enhance contrast effect, this study compared the contrast echocardiograms of ten adult patients before and after mixing carbon dioxide with various contrast agents. Contrast agents tested included a 5 percent glucose in water, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, and Cardiogreen solutions. First, we recorded echocardiograms by injecting each diluted contrast solution alone, then repeated the examinations using 10 ml of each diluted solution with 1 ml of carbon dioxide (CO2), mixed by means of a four-way stopcock. Satisfactory or excellent results were obtained in seven of ten, ten of ten, ten of ten, and ten of ten tests, respectively, after thorough gas-mixing, vs one of ten, seven of ten, eight of ten, and six of ten, respectively, before gas-mixing. We conclude that the addition of sufficient amounts of gas, followed by thorough mixing, is of great importance in contrast echocardiography. Consistently good results can be achieved with vitamin C, vitamin B or Cardiogreen solutions by this simple and safe method.