Optimal handling of dimercaptosuccinic acid for quantitative renal scanning.

Methods of optimizing quantitative renal imaging with Tc-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (DSMA) were investigated. Rats were injected with DMSA (one kit per rat) and sacrificed at 0.5, 2.0, and 24 hr after injection. Fifty percent of the injected dose localized in the kidneys at 0.5, 2, and 24 hr after injection while background activity peaked at 0.5 hr and then declined to give substantially higher kidney-to-background ratios at 24 hr. Delayed scanning should increase the accuracy of clinical studies in patients with low kidney-to-background ratios at 1-2 hr. After injection of DMSA, 1 ml of air was introduced into the reaction vials and incubated 20 min. Kidney uptake decreased from 50 to 40% and liver uptake increased from 7.5 to 17%. If multiple doses must be drawn from a single vial, air should not be introduced, and the doses should be drawn together and administered immediately to minimize radiopharmaceutical deterioration.