THE USE OF TC-99(M)-EC FOR CAPTOPRIL TEST IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the new renal radiopharmaceutical Tc-99(m)-N,N-ethylene-L-dicysteine (Tc-99(m)-EC) in patients with hypertension, applying the captopril test. Twelve controls, 45 patients with essential hypertension (EH) and 8 with renovascular hypertension (RVH) were investigated. The captopril test was assessed using different parameters of kidney function. In the controls they were: T-max 3.33 min, T-1/2 9.27 min, retention index 0.30. In the patients with EH they were: before captopril T-max 4.87 min, T-1/2 16.35 min, retention index 0.41; after captopril T-max, 4.19 min, T-1/2 13.78 min, retention index 0.40. In the patients with RVH they were: before captopril T-max 6.50 min, T-1/2 not reached, retention index 0.70; after captopril T-max 9.33 min, T-1/2 not reached, retention index 0.90. Our results indicate that this new renal radiopharmaceutical can be reliably used for carrying out the captopril test in patients with hypertension, in order to screen those with RVH.