Abstract
Objective—To evaluate the use of scintigraphy involving technetium Tc 99m diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) or technetium Tc 99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc-DMSA) for the determination of kidney morphology and function in green iguanas ( Iguana iguana ).
Animals—10 healthy iguanas weighing > 1.6 kg.
Procedure—Renal scintigraphy was performed by use of 99mTc-DTPA in 6 of the iguanas and by use of 99mTc-DMSA in all 10 iguanas. After the injection of 99mTc-DMSA, scans were performed for each iguana at intervals during a 20-hour period. Renal biopsies were performed in all 10 iguanas after the final scintigraphic evaluation.
Results—In iguanas, the use of 99mTc-DTPA for renal scintigraphy was nondiagnostic because of serum protein binding and poor renal uptake of the isotope; mean ± SD 99mTc-DTPA bound to serum proteins was 48.9 ± 9.9%. Renal uptake of 99mTc-DMSA produced distinct visualization of both kidneys. Renal uptake and soft tissue clearance of 99mTc-DMSA increased over the 20-hour imaging period; mean ± SD renal uptake of 99mTc-DMSA was 11.31 ± 3.06% at 20 hours. In each of the 10 iguanas, ultrasonographic and histologic examinations of biopsy specimens from both kidneys revealed no abnormalities.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicate that the kidneys of iguanas can be evaluated scintigraphically by use of 99mTc-DMSA; this technique may be potentially useful for the diagnosis of renal failure in iguanas. (Am J Vet Res 2005;66:87–92)
