Utility of 99mTc-MAG3 perfusion indices in the evaluation of renal transplant function during early post-transplantation period

We have examined the utility of 99mTc-MAG3 perfusion indices for assessing renal graft function in early post-transplantation period. Our study included 80 renal transplant recipients (48 men and 32 women, mean age:40.3 years). Diagnosis was based on biopsy, laboratory data and clinical course. Renal scintigraphy (RS) was obtained using 100 MBq of 99mTc-MAG3 from 11 days to 23 days of kidney transplantation. We measured 5 indices in whole-kidney (WK) and cortical (C) renograms; Hilson's perfusion index (PI), transplant perfusion index (TP) and transplant function index (TF) as perfusion parameter, and the time to peak activity (Tmax) and the ratio of renal counts at 20 min to that at 3 min (K20/3) as functional parameter. The diagnoses at the day of RS were normal graft (NG) in 44, acute rejection (AR) in 14, acute tubular necrosis (ATN) in 10, and Cyclosporine A nephrotoxicity (CsA) in 12. TP and TF were significantly decreased in AR, ATN and CsA, compared to those in NG. K20/3 of AR and ATN were significantly greater than that of NG. WK-Tmax of AR was significantly longer than than that of NG. K20.3 of AR and C-K20/3 of ATN were significantly prolonged relative to those of CsA. There were no statistically significant perfusion indices among complication groups. TP and TF reflecting microperfusion and initial tubular extraction are reliable in assessing graft function. However, it is required to correlate perfusion indices with functional indices and clinical course in differentiating from one another among complication groups