THE SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION IN CHILDREN OF GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE AND EFFECTIVE RENAL PLASMA FLOW BY THE SINGLE INJECTION CLEARANCE TECHNIQUE

The performance of over 1000 clearances with the single injection method allows a retrospective review on the value of this new technique. The choice of the indicator substance, the reproducibility of the method and the irradiation dosimetry do not bring up very exciting problems. The theoretical basis of the justification of the single injection method has not been proven so far and the inexactitude which may happen because of the empirical assumption that the substances used behave as in an open mamillary bicompartimental model is discussed. The author comes to the conclusion that although the rightness of the model has never been proven, the method will give sufficient precise results in practice and is proposed to a large extension because of its technical simplicity as well as for the patient as for the physician and the laboratory technician. The irradiation dose is so small that it will practically never be considered as a contra-indication.