Mesenteric vascular occlusion: a new diagnostic method using a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody reactive with...

A new method for diagnosing mesenteric vaso-occlusive bowel disease with the use of radioimmunoscintigraphy was developed and tested in experimental models of arterial and venous disease, as well as in a model simulating bowel strangulation. The method involves the use of a monoclonal antibody fragment mixture that binds to platelets. The antibody was labeled with technetium-99m, and imaging was performed with a gamma camera in the planar and single photon emission computed tomography modes. This method allowed visualization of areas of ischemia of 1-6 hours duration in bowel loops in 19 dogs 90-180 minutes after injection of the radiolabeled antibody. No bowel radioactivity accumulation occurred in dogs that underwent the same surgical procedure but were given a nonspecific Tc-99m-labeled antibody or in normal dogs given the specific antibody. It appears that the radiolabeled antibody used, which has higher reactivity with human platelets than with dog platelets, will be a good agent for noninvasive diagnosis of mesenteric vaso-occlusive disease in humans. It may also play a role in the intraoperative determination of the extent and location of ischemic bowel segments.