Significance of Technetium-99m Human Serum Albumin Diethylenetriamine Pentaacetic Acid Scintigraphy in Patients with Nephrotic Syndrome

It is thought that a large amount of albumin leaking from the glomerulus in nephrotic syndrome (NS) is reabsorbed at the proximal tubule and catabolized. Therefore, it is possible the final quantity of urinary protein does not always reflect the amount of leakage of protein from the glomerulus. We experienced two cases without nephrotic range proteinuria thought to involve hypoproteinemia due to the same pathophysiology as NS. On these patients, we performed protein leakage scintigraphy with technetium-99m human serum albumin diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid ((99m)Tc-HSAD) to exclude a diagnosis of protein-losing gastroenteropathy and observed diffuse positive accumulation in the kidneys with more intense uptake in the kidney than the liver on the anterior view 24 hours after (99m)Tc-HSAD administration. In healthy adults intravenously given (99m)Tc-HSAD, the same dynamics are observed as in albumin metabolism, and the organ radioactivity of the liver and kidneys after 24 hours is equal. Therefore, we thought it was possible that the renal uptake 24 hours after (99m)Tc-HSAD administration was a characteristic finding of NS. In order to confirm it, the subjects were divided into two groups: the NS group (n = 10) and the non-NS group (n = 7). We defined more intense uptake in the kidney than the liver on the anterior view 24 hours after (99m)Tc-HSAD administration as Dense Kidney (+). Furthermore, we designed regions of interest in the right and left kidneys and liver on anterior and posterior images, then calculated the kidney-liver ratio. Nine of the ten patients had Dense Kidney (+) in the NS group, compared to none in the non-NS group. And the kidney-liver ratio was significantly higher in the NS group than in the non-NS group on each view in the bilateral kidneys. In conclusion, our results suggest that the renal uptake 24 hours after (99m)Tc-HSAD administration is a characteristic finding of NS.