Revista Espanola de Medicina Nuclear e Imagen Molecular, cilt.31, sa.6, ss.322-327, 2012 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the degree of alterations of renal function by using 99m-technetium dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc-DMSA) and 99m-technetium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) scintigraphy in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Material and methods: Twenty-two consecutive SCI (15 paraplegic and 7 tetraplegic) patients (mean age: 49.1±13.4 years) who had no urinary symptoms participated in this prospective study. The mean duration of injury was 45.6±48.8 months before. Sixteen patients had at least one urinary tract infection history. Renal cortical scintigraphy with 99mTc-DMSA, radionuclide renography with 99mTc-DTPA and renal ultrasound were performed within 2-week period. Results: Four (18%) patients had serious pathology on their kidneys such as unilateral or bilateral parenchymal scarring and increased background uptake in their renal cortical scintigraphy with 99mTc-DMSA. Two of them had grade 3-4 pelvicaliceal ectasia on ultrasound. Additionally, 2 of 18 remaining patients had grade 2 pelvicaliceal ectasia on ultrasound. Sixteen (73%) patients had markedly delayed or delayed and decreased functions of one or both of kidneys on radionuclide renography. However, only four patients had grade 2-4 pelvicaliceal ectasia and none of them had a finding of loosening of renal parenchyma. Conclusion: Combined use of renal cortical scintigraphy and radionuclide renography appears to be contributive to renal ultrasound in the long-term follow-up of patients with SCI. Patients with abnormal findings should be closely followed, and early therapeutic interventions may enable lower morbidity and mortality rates in these patients. © 2011 Elsevier España, S.L. y SEMNIM.