title: Hypertension in paediatrics: can pre- and post-captopril technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scans exclude renovascular disease?
abstract: In children over 1 year of age, renal disease is the commonest cause of hypertension. Arteriography is considered the reference method to establish the diagnosis of renovascular disease; however, it is an invasive technique with a high radiation burden for children. This was a retrospective study of pre- and post-capto-technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) imaging compared with arteriography in 18 children between the ages of 3 and 17 years. Alone, the 99mTc-DMSA scan is a sensitive indicator of renal parenchymal disease, although non-specific in suggesting the pathology. The combination of pre- and post-captopril studies may increase the sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of renovascular disease in the presence of hypertension. This work suggests that a screening investigation with a low radiation burden can be carried out at most institutions; if the investigation is positive, there will be a high index of suspicion that renovascular disease is the cause of the hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hospital for Sick Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Minty
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lythgoe
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gordon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000792:Angiography; D002216:Captopril; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006978:Hypertension, Renovascular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D004113:Succimer; D019783:Technetium Tc 99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid
chemical_list: D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D019783:Technetium Tc 99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid; D002216:Captopril; D004113:Succimer