Use of nuclear scintigraphy with 99m Tc‐ HMPAO‐labelled leucocytes to assess small intestinal malabsorption in 17 horses

The diagnostic and prognostic value of nuclear scintigraphy with technetium-99m-labelled hexamethyl-propyleneamine oxime-labelled leucocytes was assessed in 17 horses with weight loss due to gastrointestinal malabsorption by comparing the results with the results obtained from 13 normal control horses. Intestinal uptake of activity was detected in 12 of the 17 cases but none of the control horses. The technique was therefore specific for intestinal pathology, but failed to detect some horses that might have had intestinal pathology. No indications of the horses' specific pathology were obtained, and their prognosis or response to treatment could not be predicted.