Open AccessSimultaneous pancreatic-renal transplant scintigraphy
Author(s) -
Barry L. Shulkin,
Dafoe Dc,
Richard L. Wahl
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
american journal of roentgenology
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1546-3141
pISSN - 0361-803X
DOI - 10.2214/ajr.147.6.1193
Subject(s) - medicine , pancreas , scintigraphy , perfusion , kidney , nuclear medicine , blood flow , pancreas transplantation , radionuclide imaging , radiology , technetium 99 , transplantation , pancreatic disease , kidney transplantation
99mTc-DTPA scintigraphy was evaluated in seven patients as a technique to assess perfusion of the transplanted pancreas and kidney. Such scans provide high-quality images of both organs in both the flow phase and later phases. The radionuclide is readily available and its brief effective half-life allows repeated evaluations at short intervals. 131I-hippuran, the major radiopharmaceutical for renal transplant scintigraphy, does not allow visualization of the transplanted pancreas or evaluation of its blood supply. Although the blood glucose is a gross indicator of the function of the pancreatic allograft, pancreatic scintigraphy with 99mTc-DTPA in one case was capable of detecting graft dysfunction before elevation of the blood glucose occurred. While additional studies will be necessary to determine the predictive value of this test, 99mTc-DTPA is valuable for pancreatic-renal transplant evaluation.