A single-injection method for measuring glomerular filtration rate.

A method for estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) has been developed that is based on an analysis of the total area under the plasma radioactivity-time curve after a single intravenous injection of [125I]iothalamate. Glomerular filtration rates obtained by this method (method A) and those obtained with two widely used single-injection techniques, the slope-intercept method (method B), and the two-compartment method (method C), were compared with GFRs obtained by standard inulin clearance techniques in 14 dogs. Method B consistently over. estimated inulin clearances more than 30%. Method C also overestimated inulin clearance considerably in dogs with an increased extracellular fluid volume, but was fairly reliable in normal dogs. Glomerular filtration rates obtained by the new method (method A) were in excellent agreement with inulin clearances in all dogs, regardless of the state of body hydration. The mean inulin clearance for all 14 experiments was 72.7+/-6.0 SE ml/min, while GFRs obtained by method A averaged 75.1+/-6.0 ml/min. The data from this study suggest that method A is a reliable means for estimating GFR that is especially useful in chronic experiments.