An Evaluation of the measurement of the cardiac output and of the so-called pulmonary blood volume by the dye-dilution method

Journal/Book: Reprinted from the Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine St. Louis Vol. 41 No. 1 Pages 29-39 1953 Printed in the U.S.A.. 1953;

Abstract: From the Department of Medicine Emory University School of Medicine and the Medical Service Grady Memorial Hospital SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The dye-dilution method of Stewart and Hamilton is a useful technique of measuring the cardiac output. In 152 consecutive measurements of the cardiac output by the dye-dilution and the direct Fick methods the correlation coefficient was 0.73 while in a smaller group the reproducibility of both methods was shown to be good. As a corollary of this conclusion the estimation of the so-called pulmonary blood volume is likewise a reproducible measurement. It appears however that an anticipated error of ± 10 per cent renders the measurement insensitive to small but presumably significant changes in the pulmonary blood volume. Evidence is presented which suggests that blood is not sequestered in the lungs. Thus the acute expansion or reduction of the effective blood volume does not alter the ratio of the general to the pulmonary blood volume. Similarly the pulmonary hypertension induced by hypoxia does not alter this ratio. . . .

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