Diagnosis of obstructive jaundice in infants: Tc-99m DISIDA in duodenal juice.

Technetium-99m di-isopropylphenylcarbamoylmethylimidodiacetic acid cholescintigraphy, together with measurements of radioactivity in duodenal juice, was used to evaluate 23 infants with prolonged obstructive jaundice. Four patients proved to have biliary atresia. The remainder had neonatal hepatitis. There was distinct differentiation of biliary atresia from neonatal hepatitis when the time-activity curves were analyzed. In neonatal hepatitis the radioactivity in duodenal juice is obviously higher, peaking above 1500 cpm/100 microliter per mCi dose. In biliary atresia the pattern is flattened, with maximal activity below 500 cpm/100 microliter per mCi dose.