Scintigraphy of the kidneys after transplantation

Question

Dear expert team,
I have increased kidney parameters since my transplanation 6 months ago. (Urea 44/ Creatinin 1.63) with decreasing tendency. Because of the proposal of my outpatient clinic, I went to a nephrologist. He could not image my kidneys properly by ultrasound and sent me forward to a scintigraphy. Does the radiation exposure of the investigation represents an inappropriate risk with the mentioned laboratory values, taking into account the increased risk of degeneration because of the immunosuppression, or shall I assent to the investigation?
Many thanks for your answer.
Best regards,

Answer

Dear questioner,
many thanks for your question. I understand your "fear" concerning the scintigraphy of the kidney very well, however I can calm you down. The used amount of "radioactivity" is so small that this has no risk for the development of cancer. Furthermore, the scintigraphy does not represent a considerable risk for the function of the kidneys and is therefore totally harmless. The used amount of dye is so small that this does not have a relevant effect on your kideny function. In this respect it looks different for all kinds of CT-investigations, in which dye is used. This jodine-containing dye can indeed lead to a clear worsening of the kidney function. As well MRI-investigations can lead to a worsening of the kidney function when they are done with dye (Gadolineum).
Yours sincerely,
Dr.med. Markus Hofer
lung transplantation program and adult CF-center
hospital for pulmonolgy
University hospital Zürich

16.11.2009