Radionuclide imaging of bowel infarction complicating small bowel intussusception in dogs

Technetium-99m (99mTc)-pyrophosphate was investigated for use as an indicator of intestinal infarction in intussuscepted bowel. Irreducible intussusceptions were created in eight adult mongrel dogs. Technetium-99m-pyrophosphate was then injected intravenously 24 and 48 hrs later for external scanning. In six of the dogs, infarction developed in the intussusception, and each demonstrated increased uptake of 99mTc-pyrophosphate on in vivo scintiscans. The two dogs without infarction showed no increase uptake of the radionuclide. Well-counting and specimen scanning confirmed increased radionuclide in the infarcted intussusceptions. These observations suggest that 99mTc-pyrophosphate is a reliable indicator of the vascular compromise that sometimes occurs with intestinal intussusception.