Scintigraphy of the kidneys, its organization, varieties and consequences

Renal scintigraphy is a diagnostic method that is based on the use of radiopharmaceuticals that accumulate in the tubules of the kidneys and in their glomeruli.

Scintigraphy is organized in special medical diagnostic centers with the involvement of professional urologists. The dosage of investment that people receive during the survey should be carefully calculated.

The use of modern radioisotope techniques of diagnostic research gives doctors the opportunity to detect the presence of tumors of a malignant nature in the urinary system at the first stages of its development. This method helps to diagnose the symptoms of the development of dangerous diseases as soon as possible and to develop the correct treatment that will be correlated with the degree of damage. Early diagnosis involves success in the treatment of a variety of renal pathologies and lesions of the urinary canals.

For the examination, special preparation for renal scintigraphy is not required. Sometimes the patient will need to drink a special liquid, and immediately before the test to empty the bladder. If a radionuclide survey was recently carried out, then it will be necessary for some time to refuse to re-diagnose to prevent the accumulation of residual radioactivity in the body.

Types of

examination Dynamic kidney scintigraphy is performed to perform a thorough assessment of kidney function. The evaluation of the kidneys at all stages is carried out - from the moment the radiopharmaceutical is introduced into the kidney tissues from the blood flow and until it reaches the bladder through the ureters. In the process of dynamic scintigraphy, it is required to evaluate the performance of each of the kidneys in general renal function.

With specific indications for conducting this survey, diagnostics can be implemented regardless of the person's age. In some situations, samples are taken using pharmacological medicines to diagnose kidney pathologies.

Before organizing dynamic scintigraphy, you need to drink two glasses of clean liquid for one hour. It is better to start drinking an hour before the diagnosis begins. It is not forbidden to drink carbonated water, but you should not drink coffee or strong tea.

Static renal scintigraphy is the acquisition of images that enable the detection of size, shape, position, blood flow in the kidneys, changes in the structure of the organ that can not be established by ultrasound or radiographic examination.

The examination begins 15 to 60 minutes after intravenous administration of the drug. The diagnosis itself takes from 15 minutes to half an hour.

Static kidney scintigraphy in children makes it possible to diagnose the kidneys and their anatomo-topographical state by recording the absorption of the radiopharmaceutical with renal tissue. Kidney scanning is performed two to three hours after the administration of a special drug. This is how the organ form, its dimensions, rotation angle, specificity of accumulation and distribution of the introduced substance are evaluated. Indications for conducting such a diagnosis are abnormalities of kidney development and abnormalities in the location of the kidneys, pyelonephritis, etc.

Conducting the

survey Radioisotope renal scintigraphy is performed in the nuclear medicine department of the polyclinic. The patient lies in front of the gamma camera and under it. Gamma camera is a specialized device that fixes radiation, which is emitted by the radioactive substance previously introduced into the body, which accumulates in the patient's body, forming a complete picture.

The radioactive substance is administered intravenously and immediately after the introduction the diagnosis begins to evaluate the blood circulation in each kidney. After certain intervals of time, the specialist receives a sequence of pictures. Kidney scan also allows you to set the filtration rate of blood in the glomeruli. The radioactive preparation used for scintigraphy of kidneys makes it possible to establish a blockade in the collection systems of the kidneys.

Typically, the resulting images are directly projected, but it is possible to take pictures at a different angle of inclination. If necessary, the patient is put in such a way that it is possible to obtain information about the mobility of the kidney, namely, in the process of obtaining images, a person must lie down or sit down.

After the diagnosis is completed, the person returns to his habitual life. The mainly used radioactive medical product is excreted from the body through the urinary canals, so to accelerate the process it is necessary to increase the amount of fluid intake.

Survey results

Deciphering of kidney scintigraphy makes it possible to determine the degree of functioning of the organ depending on the age group of the subject and on his state of health, the relative position, size and configuration of the kidneys. Primary pictures allow you to determine the blood circulation in the kidneys. People who suspect suspicion of obstruction or damage after scintigraphy require additional information through other diagnostic methods, such as computed tomography or ultrasound. In addition, if you find an incorrect size of the kidneys, unusual outlines or unusual localization, you may need other methods of visualization.

Based on the results of this diagnostic method, it is possible to obtain complete diagnostic information about various pathologies of the urinary system:

• The process of urinary diversion in the development of inflammation in the kidneys and urolithiasis.
• The presence of kidney failure and the stage of its development.
• Indications for surgical operation in patients suffering from obstruction of the urinary canals.
• Presence of vesicoureteral reflux.
• The presence of constriction in the arteries of the kidney and the need for a subsequent diagnosis of impaired blood flow in the kidneys.

Complications after

survey In general, any nuclear medicine examinations are considered safe. Unlike some drugs that are used to implement an X-ray examination of the kidneys, radioactive medications only rarely provoke the development of side effects.

The long-term effect of such drugs is not observed, because they soon break up and do not have any direct effects on the functioning and structure of tissues in the human body. During the introduction of such drugs, the level of blood pressure may rise for some time or, conversely, decrease, and urination may often increase.

It is forbidden to organize this examination during pregnancy, kidney failure or during breastfeeding.