Health

Are there additional minimally invasive treatments for unresectable malignant liver masses?  Use of yttrium-90 ( 90 Y) microspheres is a newer treatment option that delivers concentrated radiation to unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic disease. 90 Y, with a half-life of 64.5 hours, releases beta particles that radiate adjacent soft tissue with an average penetration of 2.5 mm. 90 Y microspheres have …

Minimally invasive treatments for unresectable malignant liver masses Read More »

Is nuclear medicine helpful in placement of arterial perfusion catheters?  The use of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy can serve as an adjuvant treatment following surgery or may be used for patients with unresectable disease. Occasional unrecognized systemic shunting, catheter dislodgment, and unintended perfusion of an area not suitable for highly toxic chemotherapeutic drugs hamper placement …

Is nuclear medicine helpful in placement of arterial perfusion catheters Read More »

Are nuclear medicine procedures clinically useful in localizing GI bleeding, or are simpler techniques adequate?  99m Tc-RBC studies are more sensitive than both colonoscopy and angiography in detecting intermittent bleeding. Upper endoscopy would be a better choice if an upper GI bleed is suspected because tagged RBC studies are limited in the assessment of the stomach …

Are nuclear medicine procedures clinically useful in localizing GI bleeding Read More »

Which nuclear medicine procedures are useful in localizing lower GI bleeding?  The difficulty of localizing acute lower GI bleeding is well recognized. Even acute and rapid bleeding can be intermittent and not detected on angiography. Alternatively, the culprit lesion can be obscured by luminal blood during endoscopy. Small bowel bleeding distal to areas accessible by …

Nuclear medicine procedures in lower GI bleeding Read More »

Can accessory splenic tissue or splenosis be detected via nuclear medicine procedures?  After splenectomy as treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenia, approximately 30% of adult patients can result in treatment failure, which may be secondary to an accessory spleen or splenosis. Unrecognized splenosis may also be a cause of unexplained abdominal pain or present as an abdominal …

Nuclear medicine procedures in splenosis Read More »

How can nuclear medicine procedures assist in detecting ectopic gastric tissue?  As a source of pediatric GI bleeding, a Meckel diverticulum invariably contains ectopic gastric mucosal tissue. Because 99m Tc-pertechnetate is concentrated and extracted by gastric tissue, it is an ideal agent to localize sources of GI bleeding caused by a Meckel diverticulum, which can be difficult …

Nuclear medicine procedures in ectopic gastric tissue Read More »

What is the role for nuclear medicine studies in evaluating hepatic mass lesions?  The traditional liver and spleen scan using an intravenous injection of 99m Tc-sulfur colloid has largely been replaced by US and dynamic multiphase CT and MRI. In addition to superior resolution with CT and MRI, adjacent structures can also be evaluated. If results are …

Nuclear medicine studies in hepatic mass lesions Read More »