Clearance of Tc-99m DTPA in hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis: concise communication

The clearance of Tc-99m DTPA was studied in 14 patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD). Mean Tc-99m DTPA clearance during HD was 37.8% +/- 10.1 of creatinine clearance. Mean Tc-99m DTPA clearance in PD was 65.1% +/- 10.3 of creatinine clearance. Tc-99m DTPA, with a larger molecular weight than that of creatinine, is cleared relatively better during PD than during HD. Thus Tc-99m DTPA may be used in the assessment of the effectiveness of different dialytic treatments for substances of similar molecular weight. In addition, our study shows that clearance of DTPA both in HD and PD is sufficiently high to allow the removal of this chelating agent in patients with renal failure.