Assessment of correlation between peritoneal permeability by 99mTc-DTPA excretion with standard peritoneal equilibration test

Introduction: The most widely used peritoneal function test is the peritoneal equilibration test (PET), developed and described by Twardowski in 1987. The objective of this study was to develop an alternative method that uses a radiopharmaceutical to calculate PET results and to compare this method with the conventional method, the peritoneal equilibrium test. Methods: We conducted a prospective pilot study in 13 patients. Patients with a history of peritonitis were excluded from the study. Before starting the peritoneal dialysis10 mCi technetium-99m 99mTc-DTPA was injected intravenously. Excretion of 99mTc-DTPA into the dialysate fluid as a percentage of the injected dose was calculated. Simultaneously, standard peritoneal equilibrium test values were recorded for comparison. Results: In this study 13 patients with mean age of 48.58±13.67 were included who 8 of them were male and 5 female.The PET results revealed 1 high transporters (7.75%), 8 high-average transporters (61.50%), and 4 low-average transporters (30.75%). Peritoneal excretion of 99mTc-DTPA ranged from 3.53% to 14.43% of the injected dose, depending on the peritoneal membrane permeability. When the results were compared with the conventional method, a good correlation (r=0.045, r=0.564) was found. Conclusion: Our study suggests that Peritoneal excretion of 99mTc-DTPA may be used a radiopharmaceutical to calculate PET in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis