QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENT OF HUMAN TISSUE HEPATIC BLOOD-VOLUME BY (CO)-O-15 INHALATION WITH POSITRON-EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY

In order to estimate the tissue liver function, tissue hepatic blood v olume was measured quantitatively and non-invasively using (CO)-O-15 i nhalation in conjunction with positron-emission tomography. Fifty-eigh t patients with normal liver function, 14 patients with chronic hepati tis, 28 patients with hepatic cirrhosis, and 4 patients with obstructi ve jaundice were studied by positron-emission tomography scan after th e single breath inhalation of 20 mCi of high specific activity O-15-la beled carbon monoxide. The mean tissue hepatic blood volume was signif icantly greater in patients with normal livers than in patients with c hronic hepatitis or hepatic cirrhosis (mean: 20.5, 18.2, and 16.1 ml p er 100 cm(3), respectively, p=8.6x10(-8)). Tissue hepatic blood volume (tHBV) correlated with the reaction of the mesenchymal system and pro tein synthesis, because there was a potent correlation between tHBV an d hepatic fibrosis. In normal livers, we were able to demonstrate sign ificant differences in tissue hepatic blood volume among liver segment s. (C) Munksgaard, 1996.