INCREASING THE DOSE AND RATE OF ALBUNEX INFUSION LEADS TO SUPERIOR LEFT-VENTRICULAR CONTRAST EFFECT

In routine clinical use, the efficacy of Albunex in producing clinical ly useful opacification may be lower than in initial clinical studies. We hypothesized that increasing either the rate of injection or amoun t of Albunex administered would increase left ventricular opacificatio n. Fifty adult volunteers were each injected with Albunex in five volu me/rate combinations. Blinded reviewers evaluated left ventricular opa cification and endocardial border delineation compared with the baseli ne (noncontrast) echocardiogram. In addition, captured digitized image s were analyzed with video-densitometric techniques. Injected at the h ighest volume/rate tested (20 ml at 3.0 ml/sec), Albunex provided the greatest improvement in left; ventricular opacification, endocardial b order delineation, and quality of the echocardiogram. The administrati on of Albunex caused no serious adverse events at any volume/rate regi men tested. Our data indicate that faster injection rates and larger d ose volumes than those currently recommended by the package insert sig nificantly improve Albunex ultrasound contrast without compromising sa fety.