This is an automatically translated article.
Bone scan is a test method that helps doctors find lesions in the patient's bones. To perform this technique, the doctor will use the camera to capture the radiation from the radioactive drugs that have been put into the patient's body before and convert it into a signal and convert it into an image. .
1. Indications for bone scintigraphy
Bone scintigraphy is usually indicated by the doctor in the following cases:
Patients with unexplained bone pain Fracture Paget's disease Bone primary bone cancer Metastatic bone cancer Joint infection, follow-up after joint or bone replacement Avascular necrosis, metabolic diseases such as osteoporosis, osteomalacia Locate the site for puncture, bone biopsy.
2. Bone scintigraphy procedure
2.1 Prepare the patient Before performing the bone scan, the patient hardly needs to fast or avoid other specific activities, the patient just needs to drink a lot of water and urinate right before the imaging with The goal is to empty the bladder to get a better view of the pelvis.
Chuẩn bị chụp xạ hình xương
After that, the patient needs to remove all metal jewelry on the body to avoid affecting the image. It is also possible that the doctor will ask you to take off all your clothes, you will be provided with a cloth or paper to serve the scan.
2.2 Injecting radioactive tracer To perform a bone scan, the doctor will administer intravenously a radioactive tracer, the type commonly used today is Tc-99m MDP with the following dosage :
Adults: 20-30 mCi Children 5 years old: 0.2-0.3 mCi/kg After intravenous injection, radioactive material will quickly distribute to the extracellular fluid space and concentrate on bone and take about 2- 5 hours for the tracer to bond with the bone so that the bone scan can be performed.
2.3 Recording method The patient, after being qualified for radiography, will be asked to lie on the table, the camera of the scanner will record the entire front and back of the whole skeleton by moving slowly around the body. The x-ray machine will be controlled by a nuclear medicine technician, and the resulting images will be interpreted by a radiologist or nuclear medicine specialist.
During the scan, the patient may move at the request of the doctor or technician. If there are no requirements, the patient should lie still to ensure the clearest possible image. The normal bone scan will take about 1 hour.
2.4 Reading the results to the patient After performing the technique and having the results, the doctor will read the results to the patient, making an initial assessment of the patient's bone condition. However, in order to have an accurate diagnosis, doctors must not only rely on radiographic images but also combine with the patient's symptoms and other test results.
3. Does bone scan have any effect?
The effects of radioactive materials are almost non-existent, they will be eliminated from the patient's body within 24 hours and do not leave any sequelae or risks. In addition, the patient after the bone scan does not need to be isolated from the people around because as mentioned above, the amount of radiation in your body will be eliminated very quickly.
Chụp xạ hình xương không để lại di chứng
The patient may also experience swelling or pain at the site of the needle puncture during the intravenous administration, but these symptoms will subside quickly and leave no impact on the patient.
4. What are the notes when taking bone scans?
The following are notes for patients when performing bone scans:
If you are pregnant or suspect that you are pregnant, you should tell your doctor before performing, because like X-rays, tracer If you are breastfeeding, you should stop breastfeeding for 1-2 days because radioactive material can pass into breast milk. You should discard any milk secreted within 1-2 days after the scan. If you use certain drugs such as barium enema, Pepto-Bismol medicine, you should tell your doctor because the ingredients of these drugs can affect the results of the bone scan. Any questions that need to be answered by a specialist doctor as well as if you want to be examined and treated at Vinmec International General Hospital, you can contact Vinmec Health System nationwide or register online. online HERE.
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