Comparison of the Relative Renal Function Calculated with 99mTc-Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid and 99mTc-Dimercaptosuccinic Acid in Children

The aim was to compare the relative renal functions measured with technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc-DMSA) and technetium-99m diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) in children with renal diseases. Relative renal function of 128 children who applied to three hospitals from 2009 to 2011 were analyzed retrospectively. The mean value measured with 99mTc-DTPA and 99mTc-DMSA were 51.58 ± 14.95 and 51.96 ± 14.99 for the right kidney, 47.87 ± 15.27 and 47.94 ± 15.17 for the left kidney, respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between the relative renal functions (r = 0.963, P < 0.001). In Bland-Altman plots, the mean difference between two methods was 0.7 and the correlation limits were between 10.1 and-10.8. As a result, although 99mTc-DMSA is accepted as the most reliable method for the determination of relative renal function, 99mTc-DTPA can be another choice for the calculation of relative renal function without a complementary DMSA scan particularly in pediatric patients who require renogram curve and GFR calculations.