(99m)Tc-DTPA Diuretic Renography with 3 hours late output fraction in the evaluation of hydronephrosis in children

OBJECTIVE: Dynamic renal scintigraphy complemented by late gravity assisted postvoid images to 60 minutes is a frequently used diagnostic test in the evaluation of hydrone- phrosis. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness in acquiring images at 180 minutes to calculate the late output fraction (LOF) of (99m)Tc-DTPA in the diagno- sis of ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study of 177 patients (196 renal units) of sus- pected cases of clinical UPJO was conducted. The patients were submitted to at least two dynamic renal scintigraphies of (99m)Tc-DTPA, with the addition of furosemide (F0), with a mean age of 4.3±3.8 years for the first study, and a follow-up of 2.7±2.5 years. RESULTS: For diagnosis based on renal curves, a 100% sensitivity, 82.2% specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) of 10.4% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 100% were estimated. For diagnosis based on LOF, a 100% sensitivity, 96.3% specificity, PPV of 35.7% and NPV of 100% were estimated. CONCLUSION: A LOF <10% is indicative of UPJO, and a LOF ≥15% is indicative of no UPJO. The data demonstrate that LOF presents equivalent sensitivity and NPV, and higher specificity and PPV in comparison to diagnosis based on renal curves, and is useful in the evaluation and follow-up of suspected cases of UPJO.