I had a complete body bone scan today. The physician reading the results sent the technician back to ask if I have ever had kidney disease. I had several bouts of pyelonephritis as a 6-12 year old. (40 years ago) It seems that I have marked asymmetrical absorption of the material between my two kidneys. The technician added that one kidney showed lots of activity while the other one was barely visible . The report recommended clinical eval and an ultrasound. What are the possibilities here?
HI, Thanks for writing in. The most convincing possibility in your report findings is that due to the pyelonephritis 40 years back there was scarring in the kidney. This has caused mild permanent scarring leading to decreased functioning in one of the kidneys. This is not a serious condition and the kidney function has been taken care of by both the kidneys and this is the reason one kidney is showing reduced activity. When doing a complete bone scan, the material injected is excreted through the kidneys and the concentration of the radio isotope in the kidney reflects its absorption. Since on of your kidneys is showing reduced absorption of the radio isotope material, it means that due to scar formation 40 years back, the kidney function is reduced. If your kidney function tests such as serum creatinine and creatinine clearance is within the normal range then there is no concern. Please do not worry.