Hepatic blood flow determination. A comparison of 99mTc-diethyl-IDA and indocyanine green as hepatic blood flow indicators in man.

99mTc-diethyl-acetanilide-iminodiacetic acid (IDA) was compared with indocyanine green (ICG) as an indicator of hepatic blood flow (HBF). Twelve subjects (8 with cirrhosis, 2 with fatty liver, one with pancreatitis, and one with intestinal angina) were studied during hepatic vein catheterization. In 9 subjects the HBF measurements (indirect Fick-principle) were within 0.8-1.9 l/min, and no significant difference was observed between the values obtained by ICG and 99mTc-diethyl-IDA (mean 1.24 vs 1.26 l/min, P greater than 0.4). In 2 subjects with cirrhosis very high but almost identical values were found with the two indicators. In one subject ICG could not be measured in plasma because of hyperlipidaemia, but HBF was easily determined by 99mTc-diethyl-IDA. The results indicate that 99mTc-diethyl-IDA can be used as an indicator of HBF. This indicator is not superior to ICG in patients with decreased liver function, but offers advantages in that it can be used with small plasma samples and permits the determination of HBF in the presence of hyperlipidaemia.