Thallium-201 myocardial imaging in children.

The clinical applications of thallium-201 scintigraphy are less well defined in children than in adults. However, the published data indicate several potential applications including assessment of: 1) deficit in left ventricular myocardial perfusion, 2) early right ventricular volume or pressure overload, or both, and 3) the right ventricle in both cyanotic and acyanotic congenital heart disease. In this report, the applications of thallium imaging to pediatric diseases are described and the advantages and disadvantages of the procedure are enumerated.