Evaluation of portal circulation with 99mTc-MIBI imaging

A new method for evaluating portal systemic circulation with administration of 99mTc-MIBI per rectum was performed in 8 healthy subjects and 58 patients with various liver diseases. In healthy controls, the liver was clearly and quickly visualized whereas the images of other organs such as the heart, spleen and lungs were very poor. In patients with liver cirrhosis associated with portal-systemic shunt, the liver was less clearly visualized, whereas radioactivity in other organs, especially in the heart, became more evident than the healthy subjects. The heart to liver uptake ratio (H/L ratio) was significantly higher in liver cirrhosis than those of healthy subjects or patents with acute or chronic hepatitis (P<0.01). There was a good correlation between H/L ratio and the results obtained from indocyanine green test, as well as surgical operation. The present data suggests that the 99mTc-MIBI imaging seems to be a noninvasive method very useful in evaluating portal-systemic shunts