131I Hippuran in the Evaluation of Transplanted Kidneys1

FOLLOWING A single injection of 131I Hippuran, information regarding the transplanted kidney may be obtained by: (a) radiorenograms; (b) scans of the transplanted kidney and bladder, and (c) the rate of clearance of 131I Hippuran from the blood. The value of the radiorenogram in detecting the rejection of the transplanted kidney by the recipient has been the subject of many papers (1–3). Since August 1967, my associates and I have performed 56 radiorenograms on 36 patients. Analysis of these studies has shown the radio-renogram to be of limited value because of the high incidence of abnormal studies even when there was no clinical or laboratory evidence to suggest dysfunction. Since 1965, we have performed 150 renal scans on 75 patients following injection of 131I Hippuran. The renal scan is helpful in deciding whether or not the kidney is viable, especially in the anuric patient; this technic may also reveal infarcts in the transplanted kidney. Since the scan is not a quantitative study, it is unsuitable...