Intravenous xenon-133 for the determination of radionuclide first pass right ventricular ejection fraction

The use of intravenous xenon-133 for determination of radionuclide first pass right ventricular ejection fraction is described. First pass determinations of right ventricular ejection fraction were made with both xenon-133 and technetium-99m in 13 subjects (15 right ventricular ejection fraction determinations); results obtained with xenon-133 show an excellent correlation (r = 0.98, p < 0.002) with results obtained using technetium-99m. Because of rapid pulmonary elimination of xenon-133 from the body, the use of this radioisotope allows multiple first pass right ventricular ejection fraction determinations within a short period of time, without significant radiation exposure for the patient.