Kidney allografts and remaining contralateral donor kidneys before and after transplantation: assessment by quantitative (99m)Tc-DMSA SPECT.
We used (99m)Tc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) quantitative SPECT (QDMSA) to assess the function of kidneys before harvesting and after transplantation as well as the function of remaining donor kidneys.


METHODS
Nineteen kidney donors underwent a baseline QDMSA study before nephrectomy. The allografts of these kidneys were studied in recipients at 1 wk, 1-2 mo, and 6-15 mo after transplantation. The kidneys remaining in 16 donors were studied at 1-2 mo and 6-15 mo after harvesting. The parameters obtained in each SPECT study included functional volume, concentration of (99m)Tc-DMSA per cubic centimeter of renal tissue, and total kidney uptake. Clinical evaluation and determination of serum creatinine levels took place at the same time as SPECT.


RESULTS
On the basis of the clinical evaluation, 14 grafts had normal function and 5 were impaired. The mean +/- SD of kidney uptake values expressed as percentage of baseline values were 131% +/- 30% in normal grafts versus 57% +/- 5% in impaired grafts at 1 wk (P < 0.01), 173% +/- 57% versus 65% +/- 10% at 1-2 mo (P < 0.001), and 190% +/- 50% versus 69% +/- 14% at 6-15 mo after transplantation (P < 0.01). Uptake values in the donors' remaining kidneys were 159% +/- 27% of baseline values at 1-2 mo and 164% +/- 30% at 6-15 mo after nephrectomy. Allografts and remaining kidneys showed a similar increase in total kidney uptake as a result of an increase in both functional volume and concentration.


CONCLUSIONS
QDMSA may be a noninvasive assessment tool in kidney transplantation from living donors.
Even-Sapir
Einat
E
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel. evensap@tasmc.health.gov.il
Gutman
Mordechai
M
Lerman
Hedva
H
Kaplan
Eli
E
Ravid
Anat
A
Livshitz
Genady
G
Nakache
Richard
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019783:Technetium Tc 99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid; D014019:Tissue Donors; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D019783:Technetium Tc 99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid