Nuclear medicine studies in the dialysis patient

Nuclear medicine (scintigraphy) studies that are performed in patients being prepared for regular dialysis treatment include the measurement of renal clearance and dynamic studies of renal perfusion and function. Static scintigraphy with 99mTc-DMSA may be used in the evaluation of children at risk of renal damage and further functional deterioration. In patients on peritoneal dialysis, nuclear medicine procedures enable the diagnosis of structural complications such as intra-abdominal herniations and leaks. Diagnosis of infections of the vascular access sites in patients on hemodialysis and of the catheter tunnel in patients on peritoneal dialysis can be made with high diagnostic accuracy using radiolabeled, autologous leukocytes. Scintigraphy is valuable in delineating the extent of deposits of amyloid and parenchymal microcalcifications, and may be helpful in the functional evaluation of organs and tissues involved in the pathophysiology of renal impairment and dialysis. If radioiodine therapy with 131I is performed in patients on hemodialysis with benign or malignant thyroid disease, then pretherapeutic dosimetry is necessary to avoid over- and undertreatment. Radioiodine therapy in the dialysis patient leads to only insignificant contamination of dialysis equipment and marginal exposure to the medical staff.