131I-hippuran clearance in patients presenting tubulointerstitial diseases of the kidneys

An assessment of changes in the effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) in a variety of tubulointerstitial diseases free of renal failure is made. A total of 160 patients (80 men and 72 women) aged 42.4 on the average are studied. They suffer from the following diseases: chronic glomerulonephritis, chronic pyelonephritis, Balkan endemic nephropathy, gouty nephropathy, lithium nephropathy, etc. ERPF is evaluated through 131I-hippuran clearance using the methods with one and two blood samples. In 55.6% of the patients ERPF is in the normal limits. More significant decrease in ERPF is documented in patients with gouty nephropathy - 62.5%, with chronic pyelonephritis - 24.4% and with prolonged (over 10-15 years) lithium therapy - 32.8%. The method is easy to apply and convenient for early functional assessment of renal lesions and dynamic control of the treatment results. 6 refs., 2 tabs., 2 figs. (author)