The effects of deferoxamine mesylate on gallium-67 distribution in normal and abscess-bearing animals: concise communication.

Deferoxamine mesylate (DFO), given to rabbits 20 min after gallium-67 citrate, induces prompt and rapid urinary excretion of Ga-67 activity with concommitant decrease in blood and muscle activity. When DFO is given after 2 hr or later, the effect is smaller (15% decrease in blood activity compared with 50%). In abscess-bearing rats the same effect was observed: DFO accelerated the Ga-67 blood clearance by increasing urinary excretion. Tissue-distribution studies and direct counting of abscesses showed that DFO lowers Ga-67 activity in all organs as well as in the abscess if given 2 or 4 hr after Ga-67 citrate, but the abscess-to-blood ratio increases. At 24 hr after Ga-67 citrate, DFO administration causes an improvement in the ratios of abscess-to-blood and abscess-to-normal tissue. Thus, DFO could be used to decrease the radiation burden from Ga-67 citrate after imaging has been performed, and also to increase the target-to-nontarget ratio.