[Relative evaluation of arterial and portal perfusion of the liver during scintigraphy using technetium 99m sodium...

Quantitative assessment of the relative arterial and portal blood flows by calculation of the slopes of the arterial and venous components of the liver first-pass curve was performed in 67 patients with steatosis or cirrhosis referred for liver scintigraphy. In normal subjects, the portal venous blood flow amounts to 74.3 +/- 3% of total liver blood flow. In the present study, this figure was reduced to 58.6 +/- 8.6% in steatosis (n = 5) and 35.5 +/- 14.6% in cirrhosis (n = 33). Analysis of liver blood flow enhances the sensitivity of radioisotopic scans in diffuse liver diseases and is of considerable value for the indication, prognosis and follow-up of surgical shunts.