Patient Preparation with Esomeprazole Is Comparable to Ranitidine in Meckel Diverticulum Scintigraphy

To localize ectopic gastric mucosa in patients with unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding and diagnose a Meckel diverticulum, ^99mTc-pertechnetate imaging is the standard procedure. H2 inhibitor pretreatment enhances the sensitivity of the scan by reducing washout of ^99mTc activity from the intestinal lumen. We aim to provide evidence of the effectiveness of the proton pump inhibitor esomeprazole as an ideal substitute for ranitidine. Methods: The scan quality for 142 patients who underwent a Meckel scan during a period of 10 y was evaluated. The patients were pretreated with ranitidine orally or intravenously before a switch to a proton pump inhibitor after ranitidine was no longer available. Good scan quality was characterized by the absence of ^99mTc-pertechnetate activity in the gastrointestinal lumen. The effectiveness of esomeprazole to diminish ^99mTc-pertechnetate release was compared with the standard treatment using ranitidine. Results: Pretreatment with intravenous esomeprazole resulted in 48% of scans with no ^99mTc-pertechnetate release, 17% with release either in the intestine or in the duodenum, and 35% with ^99mTc-pertechnetate activity both in the intestine and in the duodenum. Evaluation of scans obtained after oral ranitidine and intravenous ranitidine showed absence of activity in both intestine and duodenum in 16% and 23% of the cases, respectively. The indicated time to administer esomeprazole before starting the scan procedure was 30 min, but a delay of 15 min did not negatively influence the scan quality. Conclusion: This study confirms that esomeprazole, 40 mg, when administered intravenously 30 min before a Meckel scan, enhances the scan quality comparably to ranitidine. This procedure can be incorporated into protocols.