Clinical nuclear medicine
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Clinical nuclear medicine · Jan 2017
Comparative StudyComparison of PET/MRI With PET/CT in the Evaluation of Disease Status in Lymphoma.
The primary aim was to compare the diagnostic performance of PET/MRI (performed with basic anatomical MRI sequences) in detecting sites of disease in adult patients with lymphoma compared with the current standard of care, PET/CT. Secondary aims were to assess the additional value of diffusion-weighted imaging to PET/MRI in disease detection and to evaluate the relationship between the standardized uptake value on PET/MR and the apparent diffusion coefficient on diffusion-weighted imaging. ⋯ PET/MRI is a reliable alternative to PET/CT in the evaluation of patients with lymphoma. Diffusion-weighted imaging did not alter diagnostic accuracy. With comparable accuracy in detection of disease sites and added benefit of radiation dose reduction, PET/MRI has a potential to become part of routine lymphoma imaging.
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Clinical nuclear medicine · Jan 2017
Physiological Uptake in the Pancreatic Head on Somatostatin Receptor Scintigraphy Using [111In-DTPA]Octreotide: Incidence and Mechanism.
Physiological uptake in the uncinate process or pancreatic head has been described with Ga-labeled PET tracers for somatostatin receptor imaging. In-DTPA-octreotide is the only registered radiopharmaceutical for the imaging of neuroendocrine tumors. We studied the uptake in this region of the pancreatic head on somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) using In-DTPA-octreotide in a large group of patients. Furthermore, known physiological and clinical characteristics are discussed in an attempt to elucidate this phenomenon. ⋯ Physiological uptake in the pancreatic head is seen on SPECT/CT with In-DTPA-octreotide in 26% of patients, and the incidence is doubled in patients with DM. Previous case reports showed uptake in the pancreatic head due to histologically proven pancreatic polypeptide (PP) cell hyperplasia. Also, patients with DM have elevated serum PP concentrations, which is likely due to PP cell hyperplasia. Because 90% of PP cells are present in the pancreatic head, PP cell hyperplasia is the most likely explanation for visualization of the pancreatic head on SRS in a substantial number of patients.
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Clinical nuclear medicine · Dec 2016
ReviewSentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Cutaneous Melanoma: Standard and New Technical Procedures and Clinical Advances. A Systematic Review of the Literature.
Melanoma is an important public health problem, and its incidence is increasing worldwide. The disease status of regional lymph nodes is the most important prognostic factor in early-stage melanoma patients. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) was introduced in the early 1990s as a less invasive procedure than complete lymph node dissection to allow histopathologic evaluation of the "sentinel lymph node" (SLN), which is the first node along the lymphatic pathway from a primary tumor. ⋯ This relatively high false-negative rate, greater than those reported in the initial validation studies, points out the importance for the nuclear medicine community to continuously improve their knowledge on the biological behavior of melanoma and to improve the technical aspects that may allow more precise staging. For the SLNB procedure to be accurate, it is of critical importance that all "true" SLNs are identified and removed for examination. The aim of this article is to provide general information about the SLNB procedure in clinical practice highlighting the importance of standardization and accuracy of SLN identification in the light of the most recent technical innovations.
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Clinical nuclear medicine · Dec 2016
Quality and Safety in Health Care, Part XVII: The ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.
Mainly due to the positive effect on quality and safety from the Veterans Health Administration National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP), a National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) for private hospitals was begun, which is now under the auspices of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). More than 600 hospitals now participate in the ACS-NSQIP. The information gained by the institutions is typically utilized to initiate quality improvement activities. The ACS-NSQIP also shares information on how to get better results, has national meetings, and provides other support.
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Clinical nuclear medicine · Oct 2016
Case ReportsSerial 18F-FDG PET/CT Findings in a Patient With IgLON5 Encephalopathy.
We presented the serial FDG PET/CT brain scans of a 64-year-old woman with IgLON5 encephalopathy, which is a novel syndrome in association with antibodies to a neuronal cell adhesion protein named IgLON5, and FDG PET findings have not been characterized previously. For our case, the relatively hypermetabolism in primary sensorimotor cortices, basal ganglia, and cerebrum comparing to other cortical regions on the pretreatment FDG PET/CT was partially recovered on the follow-up FDG PET/CT scan after immunotherapy, corresponding with the alleviation of clinical syndromes. The metabolic change pattern was not similar as other types of autoimmune encephalitis.