Comparison of the Relative Renal Function Calculated with 99mTc-Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid and 99mTc-Dimercaptosuccinic Acid in Children.

The aim was to compare the relative renal functions measured with technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc-DMSA) and technetium-99m diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) in children with renal diseases. Relative renal function of 128 children who applied to three hospitals from 2009 to 2011 were analyzed retrospectively. The mean value measured with 99mTc-DTPA and 99mTc-DMSA were 51.58 ± 14.95 and 51.96 ± 14.99 for the right kidney, 47.87 ± 15.27 and 47.94 ± 15.17 for the left kidney, respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between the relative renal functions (r = 0.963, P < 0.001). In Bland-Altman plots, the mean difference between two methods was 0.7 and the correlation limits were between 10.1 and-10.8. As a result, although 99mTc-DMSA is accepted as the most reliable method for the determination of relative renal function, 99mTc-DTPA can be another choice for the calculation of relative renal function without a complementary DMSA scan particularly in pediatric patients who require renogram curve and GFR calculations.

Radioiodine Contamination Artifacts and Unusual Patterns of Accumulation in Whole-body I-131 Imaging: A Case Series.

INTRODUCTION: Radioactive iodine has been used for more than 50 years for the treatment of thyroid diseases. Differentiated thyroid cancers have the ability to trap iodine. Therefore, radioiodine can be used both diagnostically and therapeutically. In the follow-up of patients, it is critical to interpret radioiodine scans correctly. CASE PRESENTATION: Non-physiological Iodine-131 (I-131) extra-thyroidal uptake detected on post-therapy or diagnostic I-131 scanning are not always interpreted as functioning metastatic thyroid cancer. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides detailed information and case samples of radiodine contamination artifacts and non-physiological, non-metastatic extra-thyroidal I-131 accumulation in whole-body I-131 imaging.

Primary lymph node gastrinoma: a rare cause of abdominal pain in childhood.

Gastrinoma is a hormone-secreting tumor associated with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. It is quite rare among children. The discovery of gastrinomas in unusual locations such as lymph nodes, bones, ovaries, and the liver poses a diagnostic dilemma as to whether the tumor is primary or metastatic. Here, we present a case of a primary gastrinoma within a lymph node.

Radioguided occult lesion localization versus wire-guided localization for non-palpable breast lesions: randomized controlled trial.

AIM: This prospective randomized clinical study was conducted to compare radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) with wire-guided localization to evaluate optimum localization techniques for non-palpable breast lesions. METHODS: A total of 108 patients who were undergoing an excisional biopsy for non-palpable breast lesions requiring pathologic diagnosis were randomly assigned to the ROLL group (n = 56) and wire-guided localization group (n = 52). In the study, patients' characteristics, radiological abnormalities, radiological technique of localization, localization time, operation time, weight of the excised specimen, clearance margins, pathological diagnosis and perioperative complications were assessed. RESULTS: There were no differences between the two groups in terms of age, radiological abnormalities and localization technique (p = non-significant for all). ROLL techniques resulted in 100% retrieval of the lesions; for the wire-guided localization technique, 98%. Both localization time and operation time were significantly reduced with the ROLL technique (p = significant for all). The weight of the specimen was significantly lower in the ROLL group than in the wire-guided localization group (p = significant). The overall complication rate and pathological diagnosis were similar for both groups (p = non-significant for all). Clear margins were achieved in 91% of ROLL patients and in 53% of wire-guided localization patients, and the difference was significant. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated that the ROLL technique is as effective as wire-guided localization for the excision of non-palpable breast lesions. In addition, ROLL improved the outcomes by reducing localization and operation time, preventing healthy tissue excision and achieving clearer margins.

Testicular torsion in the left inguinal canal in a patient with inguinal hernia: a difficult case to diagnose.

A 8 month old boy suffering from inconsolable cry and tenderness presented to our hospital. Ten hours had passed from the onset of his symptoms. Physical examination showed a tender mass on the left groin. Patient was evaluated with Doppler ultrasound and Technetium-99m pertechnetate testicular scintigraphy Differential diagnosis of torsion and inflammatory disease could not be made by adjunctive tests. The patient underwent surgery based on clinical findings and necrotic inguinal left gonad was shown. In this study, we discussed the scintigraphic pattern in a patient with torsion in undescended inguinal testicle Conflict of interest:None declared.

Can Tc 99m DTPA be Used in Adult Patients in Evaluation of Relative Renal Function Measurement as the Reference Tc 99m DMSA Method?

OBJECTIVE: In the literature, there are many reports comparing relative renal function calculated with Tc 99m DTPA and Tc 99m DMSA in adults and children. However, there is no consensus about the results. As there is indeterminacy in the reliability of Tc 99m DTPA for the calculation of the relative renal functions, we retrospectively designed a study to compare the relative renal functions measured with Tc 99m DMSA and Tc 99m DTPA in adult patients with renal diseases Material and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 144 patients who applied to Nuclear Medicine Department of three hospitals between 2009 and 2010 and who had both dynamic and static renal imaging. Renal dynamic scintigraphies were compared to the relative function measured using Tc 99m DMSA static scintigraphy. Comparison of relative renal function measurements using dynamic and static renal scintigraphies was performed using Pearson correlation test. The comparison results were expressed with Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS: The study was conducted with 144 patients and 288 kidneys. Fifty six of patients were male. Mean age was 39.9±15.2 years. Thirty four patients had hydronephrosis, 28 pyelonephritis, 53 renal calculi, 3 chronic renal failure, 2 acute renal failure, 1 benign renal neoplasia, 15 renal atrophy, 8 ureteropelvic junction stenosis. Relative renal function was calculated in Tc 99m DMSA and 99m Tc-DTPA studies. The mean relative renal functions measured with Tc 99m DTPA was 52.54±23.09% and 47.25±23.09, with Tc 99m DMSA 52.85±21.80% and 47.07±21.77% for right and left kidneys, respectively. In bivariate correlation analysis (Pearson) a significant positive correlation was found between the relative renal functions calculated with Tc 99m DTPA and Tc 99m DMSA (r =0.937, p< 0.001). In Bland-Altman plots, the mean difference between two methods was 0.3 and the correlation limits were between 16.2 to -15.5. CONCLUSION: As a result, we concluded that Tc 99m DTPA is also a good method for the relative renal function evaluation when compared to Tc 99m DMSA scan. Although Tc 99m DMSA is the most reliable method for the calculation of relative renal function, Tc 99m DTPA can be another choice for the calculation of relative renal function without a complementary DMSA scan particularly in patients who require renogram curve and GFR calculations. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None declared.

Radioguided occult lesion localization versus wire-guided localization for non-palpable breast lesions: randomized controlled trial

AIM: This prospective randomized clinical study was conducted to compare radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) with wire-guided localization to evaluate optimum localization techniques for non-palpable breast lesions. METHODS: A total of 108 patients who were undergoing an excisional biopsy for non-palpable breast lesions requiring pathologic diagnosis were randomly assigned to the ROLL group (n = 56) and wire-guided localization group (n = 52). In the study, patients' characteristics, radiological abnormalities, radiological technique of localization, localization time, operation time, weight of the excised specimen, clearance margins, pathological diagnosis and perioperative complications were assessed. RESULTS: There were no differences between the two groups in terms of age, radiological abnormalities and localization technique (p = non-significant for all). ROLL techniques resulted in 100 percent retrieval of the lesions; for the wire-guided localization technique, 98 percent. Both localization time and operation time were significantly reduced with the ROLL technique (p = significant for all). The weight of the specimen was significantly lower in the ROLL group than in the wire-guided localization group (p = significant). The overall complication rate and pathological diagnosis were similar for both groups (p = non-significant for all). Clear margins were achieved in 91 percent of ROLL patients and in 53 percent of wire-guided localization patients, and the difference was significant. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated that the ROLL technique is as effective as wire-guided localization for the excision of non-palpable breast lesions. In addition, ROLL improved the outcomes by reducing localization and operation time, preventing healthy tissue excision and achieving clearer margins.

Role of scintigraphy in congenital thyroid anomalies.

Thyroid scintigraphy using Tc-99m pertechnetate is a frequently performed procedure in routine nuclear medicine practice. The indications for thyroid scintigraphy are investigation of hyperthyroidism, nodularity of the gland, cause of thyroid stimulating hormone elevation and localization of an ectopic thyroid gland. In the pediatric population, the most common request is for the evaluation of neonatal hypothyroidism. This imaging procedure is helpful in the identification of the underlying cause as well as in making a differential diagnosis. Early diagnosis is essential for appropriate therapy planning in this age group, and thyroid scintigraphy provides important diagnostic data. This article is written to review the scintigraphic findings in various congenital thyroid anomalies and to underline its use in the differential diagnosis.

Losartan renography for the detection of renal artery stenosis: comparison with captopril renography and evaluation of dose and timing.

PURPOSE: Radionuclide renography with angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition plays an important role in the diagnosis of haemodynamically significant renal artery stenosis. Angiotensin receptor antagonists inhibit the renin angiotensin system at different levels from ACE inhibitors by selectively blocking the binding of angiotensin II to AT1 receptors. The AT1 angiotensin receptor antagonist losartan has recently been used clinically in the treatment of hypertension. However, the available data on the use of losartan with renography for the detection of renovascular hypertension are limited and contradictory. The purpose of this prospective study was to compare the effectiveness of losartan renography and captopril scintigraphy in revealing renal artery stenosis. METHODS: A total of 61 renal units in 32 patients with hypertension were studied in two groups based on the losartan dosage (50 mg in group A and 100 mg in group B). Group A consisted of 17 patients, in whom 19 renal units had angiographically proven renal artery stenosis (>or=50%). In group B, there were 15 patients, in whom 20 renal arteries were stenotic. All of the patients underwent three renographies (baseline, captopril renography and early losartan renography). Early losartan renography was performed at 1 h after oral losartan administration in both groups. In group B, seven patients underwent additional losartan renography (late losartan) performed 3 h after oral losartan administration; these patients composed group B1. RESULTS: The sensitivities of captopril and losartan studies were 63.2% and 42% in group A, 65% and 65% in group B and 55.6% and 66.6% in group B1, respectively. CONCLUSION: From our preliminary results, we conclude that losartan is not superior to captopril renography for the detection of haemodynamically significant renal artery stenosis. However, a high dose (100 mg) of losartan provided higher sensitivity than the lower dose (50 mg). Late losartan scintigraphy provided similar diagnostic efficacy to early losartan renography.

Lung hilar Ga-67 uptake in patients with lymphoma following chemotherapy.

Scintigraphic characteristics of lung hilar Ga-67 uptake (HU) and their relationship with the etiology (benign vs. malignant) of the hilar lesions in lymphoma patients following chemotherapy were retrospectively investigated. A total of 161 lymphoma patients were included in the study. The presence/absence of HU and if present, symmetry/asymmetry and intensity of HU (on the basis of a 3 scale grading system) were visually and semiquantitatively assessed on transaxial sections of thorax Ga-67 SPECT. By drawing ROIs over right and left hilum, asymmetry index (AI%) was also calculated. HU was categorized as benign or malignant depending on the radiological correlation and clinical follow-up. In the malignant group, the majority of patients (85.7%) had grade 2 or grade 3 uptake and all had asymmetric pattern. However, in the benign group, grade 1 uptake was more common (66%) and was mainly symmetric (94.6%) in appearance. AI% in the malignant group (73.7 +/- 36.6) was significantly higher than in the benign group (5.7 +/- 4.9) confirming the marked asymmetry in malignant patients.