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

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.