Role of Technetium-99m-Ethylenedicysteine in the Calculation of Differential Renal Function: A Comparison Study with Dimercaptosuccinic Acid Renal Scintigraphy.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The aim of our study was to compare the technetium-99m (Tc-99m)-ethylenedicysteine (EC) renography calculation of differential renal function (DRF) with this measurement using Tc-99m-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients referred to our department were included in our study, and both DMSA and EC scans were performed for each patient according to the standard imaging protocols. A checklist was filled for each patient. Statistical analysis was performed using correlation and regression methods.

RESULTS

Forty-two patients (mean age: 3.6 ± 3.4 years), including 32 boys and 10 girls, participated in our study. The results of EC scintigraphy were significantly correlated with the values of DMSA scintigraphy ( < 0.001). Performing linear regression, EC renography significantly ( < 0.001) predicted the DRF as it was calculated by DMSA scintigraphy ( = 0.92, < 0.001). This test was significant in both male and female subgroups ( < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our study findings were similar to the reported results in the other reviewed studies, showing that Tc-99m-EC can be considered as an alternative for DMSA scintigraphy, providing interchangeable results.