Thermodilution determination of right ventricular volume and ejection fraction: a comparison with biplane angiography

In 13 patients without tricuspid incompetence, we compared the values of right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) and right ventricular end-diastolic volume (RVEDV) obtained with biplane angiography and thermodilution at end-inspiration. A modification of Simpson's rule was used to measure angiographic volumes, and a new pulmonary artery catheter equipped with a rapid response thermistor was used to measure the ejection fraction by the Holt plateau method. The correlation between the two methods was acceptable (r = 0.83 for RVEF, r = 0.71 for RVEDV) despite the limitations of both angiography and thermodilution. Thermodilution underestimated RVEF and overestimated RVEDV when compared to angiography. The variation coefficient with thermodilution for five measurements of the RVEF per patient was 12 +/- 5%. In addition to pressure and cardiac output measurements, monitoring of RVEF and RVEDV in the ICU should be possible with such a catheter. Further work is needed to assess the clinical relevance of these added data and their use for optimizing the therapy of right ventricular failure in acutely ill patients.