Abstract
Anterior abdominal scintigraphy after intravenous injection of $^{99m}Tc$-human serum albumin ($^{99m}Tc$-HSA 20 mCi) was done in 16 patients with connective tissue diseases and 15 healthy control patients. Patients with proteinuria or hepatopathy were excluded. 1) 7 (44%) patients among 16 connective tissue disease patients without the apparent evidence of external protein loss showed abnormal intestinal accumulation of albumin. 6 patients with positive albumin scintigraphy showed bypoalbuminemia. 2) There was no false positive scintigraphic finding in control group. 3) The serum albumin level in connective tissue disease patients ($3.1{\pm}0.6 g/dl$, n=16) was lower than control patients ($3.9{\pm}0.3 g/dl$, n=15) (p<0.0001). 4) The serum albumin level was lower in connective tissue disease patients with positive $^{99m}Tc$-HSA scan ($2.8{\pm}0.6 g/dl$, n=7) than the connective tissue disease patients with negative scan ($3.3{\pm}0.3 g/dl$, n=9) (p<0.05). 5) The hemoglobin level in connective tissue disease patients with positive nan ($10.6{\pm}2.91 g/dl$) was lower than that of the control group ($13.6{\pm}1.5 g/dl$) (p<0.05). Mypoalbuminemia is frequently involved in chronic connective tissue diseases. Protein losing enteropathy (PLE) is also responsible for the majority of the bypoalbuminemia in these patients. But it has been ignored because the conventional method for the diagnosis of PLE was difficult to perform. $^{99m}Tc$-HSA scan also must be validated by more extended study and comparison with the quantitative study such as stool ${\alpha}-1$ antitrypsin measurement. There must be a reevaluation of PLE in various diseases especially in connective tissue diseases with easy, fast, economical, and non-invasive method.