Technetium-99m-labeled macroaggregated albumin lung perfusion scan for diagnosis of hepatopulmonary syndrome: A prospective study comparing brain uptake and whole-body uptake

Table 2 Demographics and clinical characteristics of patients who underwent acquisition of local images followed by whole-body images and vice versa

	Local images followed by whole-body images, n = 33	Whole-body images followed by local images, n = 36	P value
Age in yr	52.8 ± 12.0	54.4 ± 12.5	0.588
Sex, male/female	20/13 (61/39)	26/10 (72/28)	0.307
Etiology			0.161
Hepatitis B virus infection	12 (36)	4 (11)
Budd-Chiari syndrome	7 (21)	8 (22)
Hepatocellular carcinoma	4 (12)	11 (31)
Alcoholic liver disease	4 (12)	6 (17)
Cryptogenic	2 (6)	2 (6)
Others	4 (12)	5 (14)
Child-Pugh class, A/B/C	16/16/1 (48/48/3)	15/16/5 (42/44/14)	0.344
Child-Pugh score	6.9 ± 1.5	7.1 ± 1.7	0.458
MELD score	9.4 ± 2.4	10.0 ± 3.2	0.436
Bilirubin in mg/dL	1.5 ± 0.9	1.5 ± 0.7	0.958
Albumin in g/L	35.0 ± 5.0	35.8 ± 5.5	0.510
Creatinine in mg/dL	0.76 ± 0.21	0.78 ± 0.23	0.757
International normalized ratio	1.24 ± 0.14	1.28 ± 0.20	0.298
Variceal bleeding	22 (58)	16 (42)	0.064
Ascites	16 (43)	21 (57)	0.413
FEV1/FVC, % predicted	86.3 ± 7.5	84.3 ± 6.2	0.524
Arterial blood gas
PaO2 in mmHg)	87.6 ± 10.0	84.2 ± 15.6	0.283
PaCO2 in mmHg	35.9 ± 5.1	35.6 ± 5.2	0.785
AaO2 in mmHg	17.5 ± 11.4	21.6 ± 16.0	0.225
IPVD	13 (41)	19 (59)	0.265
HPS	12 (46)	14 (54)	0.829
Brain-lung uptake	3.5 ± 1.7	5.3 ± 5.6	0.158
Whole-body uptake	42.7 ± 10.0	44.7 ± 6.5	0.393

Data are presented as means ± SD or as numbers of patients (percentiles). MAA: Technetium-99m-labeled macroaggregated albumin; MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; FEV₁: Forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC: Forced vital capacity; PaO₂: Partial arterial pressure of oxygen; PaCO₂: Partial arterial pressure of carbon dioxide; AaO₂: Alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient; IPVD: Intrapulmonary vascular dilatations; HPS: Hepatopulmonary syndrome.