Whole-Body Bone Scintigraphy Helps to Detect Kidney Diseases

We conducted this retrospective study to explore whether abnormalities on renal images obtained using whole-body bone scintigraphy (WBS) can help detect renal diseases.

Patients who underwent WBS between June 2017 and October 2018 were screened and then underwent a minimum 6-month follow-up, during which their clinical information was tracked. The percentage of different renal abnormalities, diseases, and intervention considerations was calculated.

We screened 4706 WBS examinations, and 486 (10.3%) patients exhibited abnormalities on renal images. The major types of abnormal renal images obtained via WBS included images of diffuse increased uptake (10.9% [53/486]), focal increased uptake (65.6% [319/486]), diffuse decreased uptake (8.0% [39/486]), focal decreased uptake (10.7% [52/486]), heterogeneous uptake (3.3% [16/486]), and small kidney size (1.4% [7/486]). After a 6-month follow-up period, 65.4% (318/486) of our included patients exhibited confirmed kidney abnormalities that included calculus, urine accumulation, cyst, atrophy, severe hydronephrosis, and tumors. Among these patients with confirmed kidney abnormalities, 27.4% (87/318) had newly identified renal abnormalities, 11.9% (38/318) underwent further examinations by clinicians, and 7.9% (25/318) received further intervention and treatment, including surgery and chemotherapy.

Although renal images obtained with WBS could not be used to accurately evaluate kidney conditions, abnormal renal images obtained with WBS may indicate that serious renal problems exist. Therefore, both nuclear medicine physicians and clinicians should pay more attention to renal abnormalities on WBS. Patients with renal abnormalities should undergo dedicated renal examinations with WBS, which may change clinical decision-making.