A radiopharmaceutical in the diagnosis of congenital biliary atresia.

Diethyl-HIDA, a new hepatobiliary radiopharmaceutical labeled with 99mTc, was used in the preoperative diagnosis of biliary atresia and in the postoperative evaluation of hepatic-porto-enterostomy function. The good results obtained in the four first cases suggest extensive use of the method, with the aim of a more precocious and more attendable diagnosis.