RADIONUCLIDE STUDIES IN INTESTINAL TRANSPLANTATION

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Abstract
Three patients who received intestinal allografts were studied using two distinct radionuclide investigations. In the first, 111In or99m Tc-labeled leukocyte scanning was performed to assist in the diagnosis of rejection. It was able to demonstrate the occurrence of rejection in the transplanted intestine, and the response to antirejection therapy. In 1 case, the abnormality on the scan preceded the histological confirmation of rejection. The second technique studied mucosal integrity by serial51 Cr-EDTA/14C-mannitol permeability tests. These studies demonstrated the initial marked impairment and the slow return to normal function of the intestinal mucosal barrier. In 1 patient, this occurred by 91 days; in another, it took 232 days. A single assay performed in the third patient at the time of allograft rejection was also abnormal. Both radionuclide tests were helpful in the care of these complicated cases.