Thallium-201 myocardial imaging after pharmacologic coronary vasodilation: Preliminary results of a comparison between oral and intravenous administration of dipyridamole

Although the diagnostic utility of Tl-201 myocardial imaging after dipyridamole (DIP) infusion is well established, the intravenous form of the drug is not commercially available. The author prospectively studied 34 consecutive patients referred for coronary angiography. With in a 2 week period, each patient underwent cardiac catheterization and Tl-201 myocardial imaging following both oral and i.v. DIP. With the patient supine, DIP was infused at a rate of 0.56 mg/kg over 4 minutes. Tl-201 was injected 3 min. after the end of the infusion with the patient standing. Myocardial imaging was performed in 3 views at 3 min. and 4 hrs after Tl-201 injection. All patients were then randomized to either 200 mg or 400 mg of oral DIP. Imaging protocol was similar to the i.v. technique, except for a delay of 45-60 min. before Tl-201 injection. Myocardial regional perfusion was evaluated by 2 independent observers using original analog and background substracted digital images with segmental profile analysis. For the 17 patients who recieved DIP 400 mg, the sensitivity was 75%(9/12) with the infusion and 83% (10/12) with the oral dose. Side effects were minor and less frequent with the oral DIP. Despite the small number of patients studied, Tl-201 imaging following 400 mg oral DIP administration proved to be reliable alternative to the intravenously induced coronary vasodilation