Value of captopril intervened _99mTc-ethylenedicysteine renal dynamic imaging in renovascular hypertension patients

Objective To show the value of captopril renal scintigraphy for detecting a renovascular cause in hypertensive patients and to assess the ability to predict the beneficial effect of revascularization on renal function. Methods Fifty-five consecutive patients with suspected renovascular hypertension (RVH) underwent renal scintigraphy after injection of _99mTc ethylenedicysteine (_99mTc-EC) after oral administration of 50 mg captopril given 60 min before the test. Baseline scintigraphy was performed 24 h later if the _99mTc-EC results were abnormal. Results 20 patients had renal artery stenosis(RAS) in 22 patients whom scintigraphy had a high probability of RVH. The result was indeterminate in 10 patients, 5 of them had RAS. In 23 patients found a low probability RVH. In 18 of 22 patients with a high probability RVH by scintigraphy, revascularization procedures were performed and 16 patients had beneficial effects, 1 of 4 patients with intermediate RVH had beneficial effects. Conclusion Captopril renal scintigraphy can detect and can predict the beneficial effect of revascularization in some cases.