Renal radiopharmaceuticals--an update

Noninvasive radionuclide procedures in the evaluation of renal disease have been accepted increasingly as effective and valuable alternatives to older clinical methods. The development of suitable radiopharmaceuticals labeled with high photon intensity radionuclides and with 99mTc in particular has stimulated this modality during the last few years. Currently several nearly ideal agents are available for anatomical and functional studies of kidney imparting very low absorbed radiation doses. These include 99mTc-GHA and 99mTc-DMSA for renal morphology and differential function evaluation, 99mTc-DTPA for GFR and 123I orthoiodohippurate for ERPF measurements. A suitable agent as a replacement for the latter labeled with 99mTc is actively being sought. Computer-assisted processing of dynamic renal function studies enables the observer to obtain a wealth of information related to the renal extraction, uptake, parenchymal transit and pelvic transit parameters of the agent administered into the bloodstream. Each of these parameters either globally or differentially contributes to a detailed evaluation of renal disease states. Several of these procedures have been validated against classical techniques clinically but more detailed information is being sought with the recently introduced radiopharmaceuticals. With the detailed validation and increasing recognition of the clinical utility of several of the radionuclidic procedures at many centers, it is hoped that radionuclide assessment of renal disorders ultimately will be made available routinely at all medical facilities.