Simultaneous pancreatic-renal transplant scintigraphy

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.
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