An assessment of dynamic gastric scanning with 99Tcm-pertechnetate

Abstract

Abstract Following intravenous injection, technetium-99m (99Tcm) is selectively taken up by the stomach, and this uptake, which is stimulated by pentagastrin, may be quantified using a gamma camera. Using this property of 99Tcm as a means of assessing gastric function, we found that the mean rate of 99Tcm uptake was significantly greater in 24 duodenal ulcer patients than in 10 healthy controls (P<0·01). Scanning values did not correlate with BAO or MAO which were measured on a separate day. Both vagotomy (n = 10) and cimetidine infusion (n = 5) significantly reduced the rate of uptake of 99Tcm (P<0·01). Thus, although 99Tcm reflects a function of the stomach which is similar to acid secretion, scanning did not give a good estimate of acid secretion in this group of subjects.