Scintigraphic diagnosis of ischemic intestine with technetium-99m sulfur colloid-labeled leukocytes

Positive scintigrams were obtained in 13 of 15 dogs injected with technetium-99m sulfur colloid-labeled leukocytes following the experimental production of intestinal ischemia. The radioactivity of the ischemic intestines averaged 5.9 times that found in normal control segments of intestine from the same animal. Labeled leukocytes may be used as a rapid noninvasive technique for the early identification of ischemic intestine.