Ancillary Finding on Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Due to Urinary Bladder Displacement.

Abstract

When imaging patients are referred for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with technetium 99m (99mTc) agents, the attention is focused on the tracer activity in the myocardium. Apart from myocardial activity, the normal biodistribution of 99mTc Sestamibi and 99mTc Tetrofosmin is seen in the thyroid, liver, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, and urinary bladder. These structures may be visualized when a large field of view (FOV) gamma camera is used for SPECT imaging. This brief report presents a serendipitous finding of a pelvic mass, which was identified because of the extended field-of-view afforded by the conventional gamma camera used for SPECT MPI and detected because of a review of the raw images by the nuclear medicine technologist (NMT). This case emphasizes the importance of the NMT training to review the raw data in the entire FOV prior to study completion.