Notable Visualization of the Gallbladder on a 99mTc-MDP SPECT/CT Bone Scintigraphy in a Case of Brucellosis.

Comprehension of the typical distribution pattern of 99mTc-methylenediphosphonate (MDP) is crucial for precise interpretation of bone scintigraphy. The presence of nonskeletal activity is predominantly confined to the kidneys and bladder, attributed to the standard renal excretion of 99mTc-MDP. We discuss a 70-year-old woman with a known case of brucellosis using rifampin, doxycycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (co-trimoxazole), and ciprofloxacin for the past 8 months. Anterior and posterior aspects of the whole-body bone scan showed diffuse increased uptake in the bodies of L2 and L3 vertebrae and related intervertebral disks. However, unexpected uptake is noted in the right upper quadrant in the region of the gallbladder. Radiochemical impurities did not show during radiopharmaceutical (MDP) quality control, and the other patients showed normal distribution. This gallbladder uptake may be attributed to the altered distribution of the radiotracer and/or gallbladder injury caused by the administration of antibiotic therapy.

Toward applying a device to reduce motion artifact during imaging: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: One of the most critical problems in different types of medical imaging modalities is unwanted patient movement during imaging procedures, which mainly occurs because of stress, anxiety, and restlessness in patients, resulting in poor image quality and decreased diagnostic accuracy. METHODS: This prospective, randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial comprised 267 patients who underwent MPI, randomly divided into three groups; Group I: streaming music with a special binaural beat frequency (MBB); Group II: streaming simple music (SM) and Group III: control group. Anxiety level was determined by the Depression Anxiety Stress-Scale (DASS) questionnaire and heart rate was monitored. RESULTS: Stress and anxiety scores were significantly lower in the MBB group compared with both SM and control group (P˂0.0001). Additionally, a significant decrease in heart rate of patients who were in the MBB group in comparison with the SM (p = 0.005) and control group (P = 0.018) was observed. The study revealed a significant decrease in motion artifact in the MBB group compared with the SM (P = 0.003) and control (P˂0.0001) groups. CONCLUSIONS: Using the proposed device capable of streaming special binaural beat frequency embedded music can cause a significant reduction in anxiety level, heart rate, and consequently motion artifact.

Assessment of the complementary and integrative medicine utilization among patients with multiple sclerosis using a translated and adapted version of the international questionnaire (I-CAM-QP): A cross-sectional study in Southern Iran.

AIMS: To assess the prevalence of and factors related to complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) use among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, using a translated and adapted version of a standard international questionnaire. METHODS: International complementary and alternative medicine questionnaire (I-CAM-Q) was used. A cross-sectional study was done to assess the prevalence of and factors associated with CIM use among MS patients in Southern Iran. Patients who were randomly selected from MS registry center, were interviewed via phone calls. RESULTS: Three hundred patients were enrolled in the study; 69% of them were female. Their mean age was 36.6±8.53 years and the mean duration of the disease was 5.6 ±â€¯4.22 years. In all, 99.3% (95% CI) of the patients had used at least one type of CIM. Herbal medicines and dietary supplements were the most commonly used CIM type (97.3%; 95% CI). Praying was the most common modality among all CIM subgroups (81.3%; 95% CI). Long term illness (MS) was selected as the main reason for the last use of all CIM types. Having non-tertiary education and having sequel due to MS were related to visiting a CIM provider (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.22-4.43), (AOR = 2.67, 95% CI = 1.47-4.83) respectively. Being female was related to the use of self-help practices (AOR = 3.41, 95% CI = 1.5-7.72). CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of CIM use among MS patients. Therefore, patient- physician communication about CIM use should be emphasized.

Is Brown Adipose Tissue Visualization Reliable on 99mTc-Methoxyisobutylisonitrile Diagnostic SPECT Scintigraphy?

The 99mTc-MIBI has been used with great value as a diagnostic technique in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. False-positive scans may occur due to misinterpretation of the physiologic distribution of the 99mTc-MIBI. Reviewing consecutive SPECT scans, we evaluated this possibility and assessed how frequently brown adipose tissue (BAT) is seen on 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy. Here, we retrospectively reviewed scans of consecutive patients who were evaluated for parathyroid adenomas from March 2015 to June 2015, using dual-phase (early and delayed) planar imaging and SPECT. We identified 60 patients (48 female and 12 male; mean age, 52.25 ±â€Š15.20 years; range, 22-86 years).We detected the presence of 99mTc-MIBI uptake in BAT in 20 of 60 patients (33.33%) in the neck. Although the patients with T99mc-MIBI uptake in BAT were younger (mean age, 48.85 ±â€Š15.27 years, range, 26-73 years) than the patients with no 99mTc-MIBI uptake (mean age, 53.95 ±â€Š15.07 years, range, 22-86 years), this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.224). The percentage of female patients with BAT detection was higher (17/48 patients; 37.5%) than that of the male population (3/12 patients; 25%), this difference was not also statistically significant (P = 0.85).In patient population referred to 99mTc MIBI scintigraphy of the parathyroid glands, uptake of 99mTc-MIBI in BAT should not be misinterpreted with 99mTc-MIBI-avid-tumors. Fused SPECT/CT images (not SPECT-only) are necessary to distinguish BAT from bone, muscle, thyroid, myocardium, parathyroids, and other structures in the neck and chest.

Impact of WHO Hand Hygiene Improvement Program Implementation: A Quasi-Experimental Trial.

Objectives. As affirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO), hand hygiene is the most powerful preventive measure against healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) and, thus, it has become one of the five key elements of patient safety program. The aim is to assess the effect of implementation of the WHO's Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy among healthcare workers of a tertiary teaching hospital in a developing country. Methods. Hand hygiene compliance was assessed among healthcare workers, according to five defined moments for hand hygiene of the WHO, before and after implementation of the WHO's Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy in fourteen wards of a tertiary teaching hospital in Shiraz, Iran. We used direct observation method and documented the results in WHO hand hygiene observation forms. Results. There was a significant change in compliance before and after implementation of WHO's Multimodal HH Improvement Strategy (29.8% and 70.98%, resp.). Conclusions. Implementing WHO hand hygiene program can significantly improve hand hygiene compliance among nurses.

Incidentally Visualization of the Thymus on Whole-Body Iodine Scintigraphy: Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Latest Insights.

Radioiodine uptake is not commonly seen by the thymus gland. On the contrary, the gland is slowly replaced by fat after puberty. Herein, we present 2 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma, follicular variant, and cervical lymph node involvement. After total/near-total thyroidectomy, the patients received I for ablation therapy. On posttreatment radioiodine scintigraphy, mediastinal I uptake was noted that finally was histologically/anatomically diagnosed as thymus gland uptake. It should be borne in mind as a potential cause of false-positive whole-body I scintigraphy.

Comparative evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of (99m)Tc-sestamibi gated SPECT using five different sets of image acquisitions at stress and rest phases for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease.

On the basis of some new evidences in favor of delayed (99m)Tc methoxy-isobutyl-isonitrile ((99m)Tc-MIBI) redistribution, doubts about the appropriate time of acquisition following radiotracer injection may be raised. The goal of this study was to find the best acquisition time at stress and rest phases to achieve the highest sensitivity and normalcy rate for (99m)Tc-MIBI SPECT. Ninety four patients with moderate pretest probability of coronary artery disease (CAD) according to "Framingham Risk Score" enrolled in the study. Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with SPECT was performed on the basis of two-day protocol with stress- and rest-phase images obtained at 15, 60, 120 and 180 minutes after injection of 666-814 MBq (99m)Tc-MIBI. According to the time of image acquisition at stress/rest phases, five protocols were defined: A, 15/180 min, B, 15/15 min, C, 180/180 min, D, 180/15 min and E, 120/120 min for stress and rest images, respectively. The sensitivity of MPI for the diagnosis of angiographically proven CAD were 77.3%, 50%, 63.6%, 45.5%, 68.2% and normalcy rate were 72.1%, 72.1%, 75.5%, 70.6%, 92.6% in protocol A, B, C, D and E, respectively. A significant association between SSS and Gensini score was detected only with protocol A (p=0.038). The most sensitive and specific two-day protocols for MPI with (99m)Tc-MIBI were protocol A and E, respectively. In addition, the best relationship between scintigraphic score of ischemia and angiographic score of CAD was achieved using protocol A (i.e. early acquisition at stress phase and late acquisition at rest phase).