[Impact of COVID-19 on Nuclear Medicine Procedures in Germany 2020 - Results of a National Survey]. / Auswirkungen von COVID-19 auf nuklearmedizinische Untersuchungen und Therapien im Verlauf von 2020 ­ Ergebnisse einer nationalen Umfrage.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic imposed an unimaginable challenge to the healthcare systems worldwide. This online survey captured the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nuclear medicine services in Germany comparing 2020 to 2019. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A web-based questionnaire was developed to record the 2020 numbers of nuclear medicine procedures and, in particular, the change compared with 2019. The changes in nuclear medicine diagnostics and therapy were queried, as well as the extent to which "Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2" recommendations provided by the DGN were implemented. RESULTS: 91 complete responses were recorded and evaluated. This corresponds to about 20 % of all German nuclear medicine facilities. Nuclear medicine diagnostic tests showed a decrease in scintigraphies for thyroid (15.9 %), bone (8.8 %), lung (7.6 %), sentinel lymph nodes (5.5 %), and myocardium (1.4 %) with small increases in PET/CT examinations (1.2 %) compared with 2019. Among nuclear medicine therapies, reductions were highest for benign indications (benign thyroid 13.3 %, RSO 7.7 %), while changes from 2019 were less pronounced for malignant indications (PRRT: + 2.2 %, PSMA: + 7.4 %, SIRT: -5.9 %, and RJT for thyroid carcinoma -2.4 %). The DGN recommendations for action were fully or partially applied in 90 %. CONCLUSIONS: The initial significant reduction in nuclear medicine procedures in the first three weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic did not continue, but there was no compensation of the previously not performed services. The decrease in diagnostics and therapy procedures of benign diseases was particularly severe.

What Is the Comparative Ability of 18F-FDG PET/CT, 99mTc-MDP Skeletal Scintigraphy, and Whole-body MRI as a Staging Investigation to Detect Skeletal Metastases in Patients with Osteosarcoma and Ewing Sarcoma?

BACKGROUND: Skeletal metastases of bone sarcomas are indicators of poor prognosis. Various imaging modalities are available for their identification, which include bone scan, positron emission tomography/CT scan, MRI, and bone marrow aspiration/biopsy. However, there is considerable ambiguity regarding the best imaging modality to detect skeletal metastases. To date, we are not sure which of these investigations is best for screening of skeletal metastasis. QUESTION/PURPOSE: Which staging investigation-18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT (18F-FDG PET/CT), whole-body MRI, or 99mTc-MDP skeletal scintigraphy-is best in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) in detecting skeletal metastases in patients with osteosarcoma and those with Ewing sarcoma? METHODS: A prospective diagnostic study was performed among 54 of a total 66 consecutive osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma patients who presented between March 2018 and June 2019. The institutional review board approved the use of all three imaging modalities on each patient recruited for the study. Informed consent was obtained after thoroughly explaining the study to the patient or the patient's parent/guardian. The patients were aged between 4 and 37 years, and their diagnoses were proven by histopathology. All patients underwent 99mTc-MDP skeletal scintigraphy, 18F-FDG PET/CT, and whole-body MRI for the initial staging of skeletal metastases. The number and location of bone and bone marrow lesions diagnosed with each imaging modality were determined and compared with each other. Multidisciplinary team meetings were held to reach a consensus about the total number of metastases present in each patient, and this was considered the gold standard. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of each imaging modality, along with their 95% confidence intervals, were generated by the software Stata SE v 15.1. Six of 24 patients in the osteosarcoma group had skeletal metastases, as did 8 of 30 patients in the Ewing sarcoma group. The median (range) follow-up for the study was 17 months (12 to 27 months). Although seven patients died before completing the minimum follow-up, no patients who survived were lost to follow-up. RESULTS: With the number of patients available, we found no differences in terms of sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV among the three staging investigations in patients with osteosarcoma and in patients with Ewing sarcoma. Sensitivities to detect bone metastases for 18F-FDG PET/CT, whole-body MRI, and 99mTc-MDP skeletal scintigraphy were 100% (6 of 6 [95% CI 54% to 100%]), 83% (5 of 6 [95% CI 36% to 100%]), and 67% (4 of 6 [95% CI 22% to 96%]) and specificities were 100% (18 of 18 [95% CI 82% to 100%]), 94% (17 of 18 [95% CI 73% to 100%]), and 78% (14 of 18 [95% CI 52% to 94%]), respectively, in patients with osteosarcoma. In patients with Ewing sarcoma, sensitivities to detect bone metastases for 18F-FDG PET/CT, whole-body MRI, and 99mTc-MDP skeletal scintigraphy were 88% (7 of 8 [95% CI 47% to 100%]), 88% (7 of 8 [95% CI 47% to 100%]), and 50% (4 of 8 [95% CI 16% to 84%]) and specificities were 100% (22 of 22 [95% CI 85% to 100%]), 95% (21 of 22 [95% CI 77% to 100%]), and 95% (21 of 22 [95% CI 77% to 100%]), respectively. Further, the PPVs for detecting bone metastases for 18F-FDG PET/CT, whole-body MRI, and 99mTc-MDP skeletal scintigraphy were 100% (6 of 6 [95% CI 54% to 100%]), 83% (5 of 6 [95% CI 36% to 100%]), and 50% (4 of 8 [95% CI 16% to 84%]) and the NPVs were 100% (18 of 18 [95% CI 82% to 100%]), 94% (17 of 18 [95% CI 73% to 100%]), and 88% (14 of 16 [95% CI 62% to 98%]), respectively, in patients with osteosarcoma. Similarly, the PPVs for detecting bone metastases for 18F-FDG PET/CT, whole-body MRI, and 99mTc-MDP skeletal scintigraphy were 100% (7 of 7 [95% CI 59% to 100%]), 88% (7 of 8 [95% CI 50% to 98%]), and 80% (4 of 5 [95% CI 28% to 100%]), and the NPVs were 96% (22 of 23 [95% CI 78% to 100%]), 95% (21 of 22 [95% CI 77% to 99%]), and 84% (21 of 25 [95% CI 64% to 96%]), respectively, in patients with Ewing sarcoma. The confidence intervals around these values overlapped with each other, thus indicating no difference between them. CONCLUSION: Based on these results, we could not demonstrate a difference in the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV between 18F-FDG PET/CT, whole-body MRI, and 99mTc-MDP skeletal scintigraphy for detecting skeletal metastases in patients with osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma. For proper prognostication, a thorough metastatic workup is essential, which should include a highly sensitive investigation tool to detect skeletal metastases. However, our study findings suggest that there is no difference between these three imaging tools. Since this is a small group of patients in whom it is difficult to make broad recommendations, these findings may be confirmed by larger studies in the future. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II, diagnostic study.

SOLLID - a single centre study to develop methods to investigate the effects of low radiation doses within nuclear medicine, to enable multicentre epidemiological investigations.

There is continuing debate concerning the risks of secondary malignancies from low levels of radiation exposure. The current model used for radiation protection is predicated on the assumption that even very low levels of exposure may entail risk. This has profound implications for medical procedures involving ionising radiation as radiation doses must be carefully monitored, and for diagnostic procedures are minimised as far as possible. This incurs considerable expense. The SOLLID study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03580161) aims to develop the methodology to enable a large-scale epidemiological investigation of the effect of radiopharmaceutical administrations to patients undergoing diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures. Patients will undergo a series of scans in addition to that acquired as standard of care to enable the radiation doses delivered to healthy organs to be accurately calculated. Detailed analysis will be performed to determine the uncertainty in the radiation dose calculations as a function of the number and type of scans acquired. It is intended that this will inform a subsequent long-term multicentre epidemiological study that would address the question definitively. Secondary aims of the study are to evaluate the range of absorbed doses that are delivered from diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures and to use current risk models to ascertain the relative risks from these administrations.

Value of antigranulocyte scintigraphy with Tc-99m-sulesomab in diagnosing combat-related infections of the musculoskeletal system.

AIM: Combat-related extremity injuries are regularly associated with long-term complications such as chronic infection, especially osteomyelitis. Clinical examination and laboratory parameters do not usually allow reliable diagnosis. In contrast, imaging techniques enable constructive assertions to be made about the location and extent of an infection of the peripheral musculoskeletal system. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the diagnostic reliability of three-phase bone scanning and antigranulocyte scintigraphy using Tc-99m-sulesomab (Leukoscan) in the diagnostic clarification of infections associated with combat-related extremity injuries. METHODS: Twenty-seven male patients (mean age 33.9 years) with suspected combat-associated infections of the extremities were included in this retrospective analysis. All patients underwent three-phase bone scanning using Tc-99m-HDP followed by antigranulocyte scintigraphy with Tc-99m-sulesomab. In 26 of the 27 patients, a CT scan of affected limb was obtained, where the secondary fusion with single photon emission CT data set was possible. The diagnostic reliability of imaging techniques was validated against microbiological samples obtained during surgery and used as gold standard. RESULTS: Three-phase bone scanning yielded a positive result in all patients, with 18 scans classified as true positive (TP) and nine scans as false positive (FP). This produced a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 0% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 67%. Antigranulocyte scintigraphy recognised 13 patients as TP, 1 patient as FP, 8 patients as true negative (TN) and 5 patients as false negative (FN), which gave a sensitivity of 72%, a specificity of 88%, a PPV of 93%, a negative predictive value (NPV) of 62% and an accuracy of 78%. CT recognised in 7 cases a TP result, in 3 cases an FP, in 5 cases a TN and in 11 cases an FN result. This produced a sensitivity of 39%, a specificity of 63%, a PPV of 70%, an NPV of 31% and an accuracy of 46%. CONCLUSIONS: Three-phase bone scanning did not deliver any diagnostic benefit, since no result was able to differentiate unequivocally between infection-related and reactive changes. Antigranulocyte scintigraphy using Tc-99m-sulesomab represented a highly suitable technique for diagnostically clarifying combat-related infections of the extremities. It is superior to CT in sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy.

Formulas Estimating Glomerular Filtration Rate in the Evaluation of Living Kidney Donor Candidates: Comparison of Different Formulas With Scintigraphy-Measured Glomerular Filtration Rate.

INTRODUCTION: Estimation of kidney function is crucial in the evaluation of living kidney donor candidates. Despite the multitude of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) formulas, no equation is universal, and none were validated in the population of kidney donors. Novel biomarkers, including beta trace protein (BTP) and cystatin C, are studied to help estimate GFR and improve the safe qualification of living kidney donors. AIM: This study compares the accuracy of different formulas that estimate GFR with reference scintigraphy-measured GFR in the population of living kidney donor candidates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study enrolled 30 healthy living kidney donor candidates. GFR was measured using the following 11 different formulas. For reference, GFR was assessed using 99m-Technetium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid. RESULTS: The accuracy of estimation was generally low in all formulas. The strongest correlation between measured GFR (mGFR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) was achieved by the Nankivell formula (R = 0.47, P = .009); however, in the group of patients with a body mass index of >25 kg/m2, only the equations based on BTP had a statistically significant correlation with mGFR: White (R = 0.59; P = .016) and Poge (R = 0.53; P = .035). Bland-Altman plots revealed wide limits of agreement between eGFRs and mGFR in all groups of patients. CONCLUSION: In living kidney donor candidates, GFR estimation formulas should be chosen individually. White formula, which is based on BTP, may be a promising tool in estimating GFR in overweight potential living kidney donor candidates. More than 1 formula and personalized choice of GFR estimation method regarding the given patient should be performed in qualification of kidney donors.

Re-operative parathyroidectomy: How many positive localization studies are required?

BACKGROUND: Re-operative parathyroidectomy in patients with recurrent or persistent hyperparathyroidism can be challenging. We review our experience to determine the optimal number of localization studies prior to re-operation. METHODS: From 2001 to 2019, 251 patients underwent re-operative parathyroidectomy. Parathyroidectomies were stratified to 4 groups based upon the number of positive localization studies obtained: A) ZERO, B) 1-positive, C) 2-positive, D) 3-positive. RESULTS: The overall cure rate was 97%, where 201 single gland resections, 23 two-gland resections, 22 subtotal/total, and 5 forearm autograft resections were performed. Thirty-two patients had no positive studies (A), 172 patients had 1-positive (B), 42 patients had 2-positive (C), and 5 patients had 3-positive studies (D). There was no difference in surgical cure rates between groups (p = 0.71). The majority of patients had one or no positive imaging studies yet almost all still achieved cure. CONCLUSION: Successful re-operative parathyroidectomy can be performed with minimal pre-operative scans in certain clinical contexts.

Validation of the Kumamoto criteria for prediction of 99m technetium pyrophosphate scintigraphy positivity as a strategy for diagnosis of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis: A retrospective cohort study in Kochi.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) is important. The aim of this study was to validate the 'Kumamoto criteria' for prediction of technetium-99m pyrophosphate (99mTc-PYP) scintigraphy positivity. METHODS: One hundred fifty patients (median age: 79.4 years, 117 males) with the possibility of ATTR-CA who underwent 99mTc-PYP scintigraphy were assessed. We divided the patients into 4 groups (groups with score of 0-3) according to the Kumamoto criteria by total points for the following 3 factors: high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) ≥0.0308 ng/ml, left ventricle posterior wall thickness ≥13.6 mm, and wide QRS (QRS ≥ 120 ms). RESULTS: Seventy patients (46.7%) were positive for 99mTc-PYP scintigraphy. 99mTc-PYP positivity rates in the groups with score of 0, 1, 2, and 3 were 4%, 39%, 69%, and 89%, respectively. Compared with the original Kumamoto cohort, our patients in the score 1 group showed a relatively high rate of 99mTc-PYP positivity because hs-cTnT as one of the positive factors had high ability to discriminate the disease. The sensitivity and negative predictive value of hs-cTnT ≥0.0308 ng/ml for 99mTc-PYP positivity were 97.1% and 93.9%. CONCLUSIONS: In the Kochi validation cohort, the Kumamoto criteria were useful for predicting 99mTc-PYP positivity. However, patients in the score 1 group should be assessed cautiously for the possibility of ATTR-CA if the hs-cTnT value is high.

A prospective study of novel mathematical analysis of the contrast-enhanced computed tomography vs renal scintigraphy in renal function evaluation.

PURPOSE: whilst renal scintigraphy (RS) can be associated with interobserver variability, it remains the standard method of evaluating split renal function. AIM: to compare the efficacy of the novel technique of kidney function assessment and renal scintigraphy. METHOD: for this prospective single-arm study we recruited patients who were recommended dynamic renal scintigraphy with 99mTc-DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentacetate). After scintigraphy, mathematical analysis of computed tomography (MACT) was done in all patients, by a single person (SK) blinded to RS results. RESULTS: the study included a total of 97 patients with mean age of 50.9 (range, 23-78) years. From this sample, 65 were females and 32 males. All patients underwent both RS and contrast-enhanced computed tomography for further MACT in 2016-2018. CT results were found to be similar to renal scintigraphy results with Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.945 (р < 0.001). Substantial similarities in renal plasma flow for both kidneys were also observed (0.815, р < 0.001). CONCLUSION: MACT proved feasible, effective and safe in estimating renal function. Its results are closely correlated with RS findings and could be easily integrated into surgical practice.

Predictors of reflux aspiration and laryngo-pharyngeal reflux.

BACKGROUND: Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) can present with typical or atypical or laryngo-pharyngeal reflux (LPR) symptoms. Pulmonary aspiration of gastric refluxate is one of the most serious variants of reflux disease as its complications are difficult to diagnose and treat. The aim of this study was to establish predictors of pulmonary aspiration and LPR symptoms. METHODS: Records of 361 consecutive patient from a prospectively populated database were analyzed. Patients were categorized by symptom profile as predominantly LPR or GERD (98 GER and 263 LPR). Presenting symptom profile, pH studies, esophageal manometry and scintigraphy and the relationships were analyzed. RESULTS: Severe esophageal dysmotility was significantly more common in the LPR group (p = 0.037). Severe esophageal dysmotility was strongly associated with isotope aspiration in all patients (p = 0.001). Pulmonary aspiration on scintigraphy was present in 24% of patients. Significant correlation was established between total proximal acid on 24-h pH monitoring and isotope aspiration in both groups (p < 0.01). Rising pharyngeal curves on scintigraphy were the strongest predictors of isotope aspiration (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Severe esophageal dysmotility correlates with LPR symptoms and reflux aspiration in LPR and GERD. Abnormal proximal acid score on 24-h pH monitoring associated with pulmonary aspiration in reflux patients. Pharyngeal contamination on scintigraphy was the strongest predictor of pulmonary aspiration.

Accuracy of Ultrasound in Identifying Renal Scarring as Compared to DMSA Scan.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the accuracy of renal ultrasound (RUS) in detecting renal scarring (RS). METHODS: All initial DMSA scans performed from 2006 to 2009 for history of urinary tract infection (UTI) or vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in patients under 14 years old were identified, and clinical history obtained via chart review. Patients who had RUS within 4 months of DMSA scan and no documented UTI during that interval were included. Decreased uptake of tracer associated with loss of contours or cortical thinning defined a positive DMSA study. Increased echogenicity/dysplasia, cortical thinning, atrophic kidney and/or abnormal corticomedullary differentiation defined a positive RUS. The sensitivity and specificity of RUS in identifying RS were calculated using DMSA scan as the gold standard. RESULTS: A total of 144 patients had initial DMSA scans performed for UTI or VUR, with a RUS within 4 months, and no UTI between the 2 studies. Ninety-five of 144 (66%) had RS on DMSA and 49/144 (34%) did not. Patients with or without RS on DMSA were not different in gender (P = .073), age (P = .432), insurance (P = 1.000) or VUR grade (P = .132). Only 39/144 (27.1%) patients had positive RUS. The sensitivity of RUS for RS was 35.8% and the specificity was 89.8%, leading to an accuracy of 54.2% (95%CI; 45.7-62.5%, P = .999). CONCLUSION: RUS demonstrated poor sensitivity for RS visualized on DMSA scan. This suggests that RUS is a poor screening test for RS or indicators of future renal scar. A normal ultrasound does not rule out RS or risk of future renal scar. Specificity of RUS was excellent.

Impact of nuclear imaging on diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis.

Background: Embolisation and metastatic infection occur frequently in infective endocarditis (IE). We aimed to evaluate the impact of nuclear imaging on diagnosis, therapy and mortality.Methods: All patients hospitalised for definite IE at the University Hospitals of Leuven in 2001 and in 2015 were retrospectively included. Demographic, clinical, diagnostic and outcome data were analysed by univariate statistical analysis.Results: Data of 122 patients were analysed. Demographic parameters of 61 patients hospitalised in 2015 compared with 61 patients hospitalised in 2001 showed no significant differences. More fundoscopic examinations (p = .002) and more nuclear imaging (p < .001) were performed in 2015. This did not result in a higher detection of retinal embolisms (p = .543). However, more episodes of symptomatic embolisation and metastatic infection (p = .002) and more occult systemic complications (p = .014) were found. In particular, spondylodiscitis was more frequently diagnosed in 2015 (p = .013). The amount of cardiac surgery and the in-hospital mortality did not differ between the two years (p = .131 and p = .810). After exclusion of patients presenting in heart failure who needed emergent surgery, the overall time to surgery was significantly shorter in 2015 (p = .043).Conclusion: The use of nuclear imaging was increased in 2015 compared to 2001. This led to more diagnoses of embolisation and metastatic infections that were not clinically evident. In patients not presenting in a critical clinical state, cardiac surgery was performed earlier in 2015. However, the in-hospital mortality was not affected.

Adherence to guidelines for baseline staging in newly diagnosed localized breast cancer.

RATIONALE, AIMS, AND OBJECTIVES: Different health agencies in Canada including Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) have developed guidelines for the baseline staging of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients but adherence to them is unknown. We sought to investigate adherence to CCO staging guidelines in a single cancer center in addition to the factors that influence this adherence. METHOD: A retrospective chart review was conducted on 212 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients between 2015 and 2017. Baseline patient demographic and disease characteristics as well as radiologic staging studies and subsequent treatments were recorded. The group of patients in whom the guidelines were observed was compared to the group of patients in whom the guidelines were not followed. RESULTS: Staging guidelines were not followed in 46.7% of the patients in the cohort (99 of 212 patients). In most cases, deviations from the guidelines consisted of performing more than the recommended baseline screening, most commonly in the form of a computerized tomography (CT) scan or a bone scan and chest x-ray (CXR)/ ultrasound (US) of the liver. Less commonly, a recommended staging evaluation was omitted or the suggested timing of the staging procedure (i.e., pre-operatively versus post-operatively) was not followed. Higher stage and grade of the disease and subsequent chemotherapy administration were associated with higher guideline non-adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Low adherence to staging guidelines for newly diagnosed breast cancer according to CCO is shown in a community cancer center. Incorporation of arising prognostic factors to staging procedure determination may increase acceptance and adherence to guidelines in the future.

Portable Ventilation/Perfusion Scanning is Useful for Evaluating Clinically Significant Pulmonary Embolism in the ICU Despite Abnormal Chest Radiography.

OBJECTIVE: Computed tomography angiography is limited in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to renal insufficiency, hemodynamic instability, and difficulty transporting unstable patients. A portable ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scan can be used. However, it is commonly believed that an abnormal chest radiograph can result in a nondiagnostic scan. In this retrospective study, we demonstrate that portable V/Q scans can be helpful in ruling in or out clinically significant pulmonary embolism (PE) despite an abnormal chest x-ray in the ICU. DESIGN: Two physicians conducted chart reviews and original V/Q reports. A staff radiologist, with 40 years of experience, rated chest x-ray abnormalities using predetermined criteria. SETTING: The study was conducted in the ICU. PATIENTS: The first 100 consecutive patients with suspected PE who underwent a portable V/Q scan. INTERVENTIONS: Those with a portable V/Q scan. RESULTS: A normal baseline chest radiograph was found in only 6% of patients. Fifty-three percent had moderate, 24% had severe, and 10% had very-severe radiographic abnormalities. Despite the abnormal x-rays, 88% of the V/Q scans were low probability for a PE despite an average abnormal radiograph rating of moderate. A high-probability V/Q for PE was diagnosed in 3% of the population despite chest x-ray ratings of moderate to severe. Six patients had their empiric anticoagulation discontinued after obtaining the results of the V/Q scan, and no anticoagulation was started for PE after a low-probability V/Q scan. CONCLUSION: Despite the large percentage of moderate-to-severe x-ray abnormalities, PE can still be diagnosed (high-probability scan) in the ICU with a portable V/Q scan. Although low-probability scans do not rule out acute PE, it appeared less likely that any patient with a low-probability V/Q scan had severe hypoxemia or hemodynamic instability due to a significant PE, which was useful to clinicians and allowed them to either stop or not start anticoagulation.

Gastric emptying scintigraphy results may influence the selection of the type of bariatric surgery: A cohort study.

Bariatric surgery (BAS) may result in adverse outcomes that include appearance of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and/or failure to reach the weight reduction goal. This retrospective study tested the hypothesis that pre-operative gastric emptying (GE) abnormality is responsible for adverse post-surgical outcomes.Pre-operative GE was performed using the standard solid-meal GE scintigraphy (GES) in 111 consecutive patients (105 females and 6 males, mean age 46.2 years, range 20-70 years) who were evaluated for BAS. All underwent BAS - 93 had laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) and 18 had Roux-en-Y (ReY) gastric bypass. All had short-term (3-6 months) and long-term (up to 54 months) follow-up with review of symptoms, physical, and laboratory examinations. Chi-square analysis was performed. P-value < .05 was considered significant.Of the 111 patients, 83 had normal and 28 had abnormal pre-op GES. Sixty-eight were asymptomatic and 43 were symptomatic prior to surgery. Following surgery, 81 patients were asymptomatic and 30 were symptomatic at long-term follow-up. There was no significant difference between pre-op GE results and post-surgical adverse clinical outcome (p = ns). However, GES results seem to have guided the selection of surgical procedure significantly (P = .008).Pre-operative GE study was not a strong predictor of clinical outcome in BAS. Although, it influenced the type of surgery, as when the GES was abnormal, the patient was more likely to undergo ReY and when GES was normal, they favored LSG. Interestingly, many of our symptomatic patients at 6 months post-op were asymptomatic after long-term follow-up.

Pre-operative Localisation of the Parathyroid Glands in Secondary Hyperparathyroidism: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Complete parathyroidectomy (PTx) is essential during total PTx for secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) to prevent recurrent and persistent hyperparathyroidism. Pre-operative imaging evaluations, including computed tomography (CT), ultrasonography (US), and Tc-99m sestamibi (MIBI) scans, are commonly performed. Between June 2009 and January 2016, 291 patients underwent PTx for SHPT after pre-operative evaluations involving CT, US, and MIBI scans, and the diagnostic accuracies of these imaging modalities for identifying the parathyroid glands were evaluated in 177 patients whose intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were <9 pg/mL after the initial PTx. Additional PTx procedures were performed on 7 of 114 patients whose intact PTH levels were >9 ng/mL after PTx, and the diagnostic validities of the imaging modalities for the remnant parathyroid glands were evaluated. A combination of CT, US, and MIBI scans achieved the highest diagnostic accuracy (75%) for locating bilateral upper and lower parathyroid glands before initial PTx. The accuracies of CT, US, and MIBI scans with respect to locating remnant parathyroid glands before additional PTx were 100%, 28.6%, and 100%, respectively. A combination of CT, US, and MIBI scans is useful for initial PTx for SHPT, and CT and MIBI scans are useful imaging modalities for additional PTx procedures.

Trends in Use of Medical Imaging in US Health Care Systems and in Ontario, Canada, 2000-2016.

Importance: Medical imaging increased rapidly from 2000 to 2006, but trends in recent years have not been analyzed. Objective: To evaluate recent trends in medical imaging. Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective cohort study of patterns of medical imaging between 2000 and 2016 among 16 million to 21 million patients enrolled annually in 7 US integrated and mixed-model insurance health care systems and for individuals receiving care in Ontario, Canada. Exposures: Calendar year and country (United States vs Canada). Main Outcomes and Measures: Use of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and nuclear medicine imaging. Annual and relative imaging rates by imaging modality, country, and age (children [<18 years], adults [18-64 years], and older adults [≥65 years]). Results: Overall, 135 774 532 imaging examinations were included; 5 439 874 (4%) in children, 89 635 312 (66%) in adults, and 40 699 346 (30%) in older adults. Among adults and older adults, imaging rates were significantly higher in 2016 vs 2000 for all imaging modalities other than nuclear medicine. For example, among older adults, CT imaging rates were 428 per 1000 person-years in 2016 vs 204 per 1000 in 2000 in US health care systems and 409 per 1000 vs 161 per 1000 in Ontario; for MRI, 139 per 1000 vs 62 per 1000 in the United States and 89 per 1000 vs 13 per 1000 in Ontario; and for ultrasound, 495 per 1000 vs 324 per 1000 in the United States and 580 per 1000 vs 332 per 1000 in Ontario. Annual growth in imaging rates among US adults and older adults slowed over time for CT (from an 11.6% annual percentage increase among adults and 9.5% among older adults in 2000-2006 to 3.7% among adults in 2013-2016 and 5.2% among older adults in 2014-2016) and for MRI (from 11.4% in 2000-2004 in adults and 11.3% in 2000-2005 in older adults to 1.3% in 2007-2016 in adults and 2.2% in 2005-2016 in older adults). Patterns in Ontario were similar. Among children, annual growth for CT stabilized or declined (United States: from 10.1% in 2000-2005 to 0.8% in 2013-2016; Ontario: from 3.3% in 2000-2006 to -5.3% in 2006-2016), but patterns for MRI were similar to adults. Changes in annual growth in ultrasound were smaller among adults and children in the United States and Ontario compared with CT and MRI. Nuclear medicine imaging declined in adults and children after 2006. Conclusions and Relevance: From 2000 to 2016 in 7 US integrated and mixed-model health care systems and in Ontario, rates of CT and MRI use continued to increase among adults, but at a slower pace in more recent years. In children, imaging rates continued to increase except for CT, which stabilized or declined in more recent periods. Whether the observed imaging utilization was appropriate or was associated with improved patient outcomes is unknown.