• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 1988

To evaluate diagnostic accuracy of liver scintigraphy we analysed liver scans of 143 normal and 258 patients with various liver diseases. Three ROC curves for SOL, liver cirrhosis and diffuse liver disease were fitted using rating methods and areas under the ROC curves and their standard errors were calculated by the trapezoidal rule and the variance of the Wilcoxon statistic suggested by McNeil. We compared these results with that of National Institute of Radiological Science in Japan. 1) The sensitivity of liver scintigraphy was 74.2% in SOL, 71.8% in liver cirrhosis and 34.0% in diffuse liver disease. The specificity was 96.0% in SOL, 94.2% in liver cirrhosis and 87.6% in diffuse liver diasease. 2) ROC curves of SOL and liver cirrhosis approached the upper left-hand corner closer than that of diffuse liver disease. Area (${\pm}$ standard error). under the ROC curve was $0.868{\pm}0.024$ in SOL and $0.867{\pm}0.028$ in liver cirrhosis. These were significantly higher than $0.658{\pm}0.043$ in diffuse liver disease. 3) There was no interobserver difference in terms of ROC curves. But low sensitivty and high specificity of authors' SOL diagnosis suggested we used more strict decision threshold.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2024

Purpose: 99mTc-mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) is an important and clinically useful diagnostic imaging study for detecting complications after liver transplantation. CT contrast agents due to their high atomic numbers, lead to a decrease in gamma ray count rates. This study investigated the impact of CT contrast agents on the uptake of 99mTc-mebrofenin in the liver. Materials and Methods: The quantitative HBS was performed on sixty-two liver transplantation patients (male:female=36:26), with a mean age of 59.4±6.4 years. Statistical comparison of hepatic uptake reduction ratio (HURR%) before and after the injection of CT contrast agents was performed using a paired t-test. Results: Hepatic uptake of the reduction ratio was 94.47±3.65% for the pre-CT contrast agents and 92.17±4.00% for the post-CT contrast agents. HURR% after CT contrast agent injection showed a statistically significant difference compared to before the injection (t=11.09, P<0.001). Conclusion: It will be necessary to pay attention when examining the HBS of patients with liver transplantation after the injection of CT contrast medium. It is advisable to schedule the examination on a different day to prevent residual contrast medium in the body from interfering with the quantitative evaluation of the nuclear medicine examination.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.756-763
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• 2020

Objective: To evaluate the effects of attenuation threshold on CT pulmonary vascular volume ratios in children and young adults with congenital heart disease, and to suggest an optimal attenuation threshold. Materials and Methods: CT percentages of right pulmonary vascular volume were compared and correlated with percentages calculated from nuclear medicine right lung perfusion in 52 patients with congenital heart disease. The selected patients had undergone electrocardiography-synchronized cardiothoracic CT and lung perfusion scintigraphy within a 1-year interval, but not interim surgical or transcatheter intervention. The percentages of CT right pulmonary vascular volumes were calculated with fixed (80-600 Hounsfield units [HU]) and adaptive thresholds (average pulmonary artery enhancement [PA_avg] divided by 2.50, 2.00, 1.75, 1.63, 1.50, and 1.25). The optimal threshold exhibited the smallest mean difference, the lowest p-value in statistically significant paired comparisons, and the highest Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The PA_avg value was 529.5 ± 164.8 HU (range, 250.1-956.6 HU). Results showed that fixed thresholds in the range of 320-400 HU, and adaptive thresholds of PA_avg/1.75-1.50 were optimal for quantifying CT pulmonary vascular volume ratios. The optimal thresholds demonstrated a small mean difference of ≤ 5%, no significant difference (> 0.2 for fixed thresholds, and > 0.5 for adaptive thresholds), and a high correlation coefficient (0.93 for fixed thresholds, and 0.91 for adaptive thresholds). Conclusion: The optimal fixed and adaptive thresholds for quantifying CT pulmonary vascular volume ratios appeared equally useful. However, when considering a wide range of PAavg, application of optimal adaptive thresholds may be more suitable than fixed thresholds in actual clinical practice.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.84 no.6
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• pp.1244-1256
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• 2023

In prostate cancer, the bone is the most common site of metastasis, and it is essential to evaluate metastatic bone lesions to assess the tumor burden and treatment response. Castration-resistant prostate cancer refers to the state wherein the cancer continues to progress despite a significant reduction of the sex hormone level and is associated with frequent distant metastasis. The Prostate Cancer Working Group 3 (PCWG3) released guidelines that aimed to standardize the assessment of treatment effects in castration-resistant prostate cancer using bone scintigraphy. However, these guidelines can be challenging to comprehend and implement in practical settings. The purpose of this review was to provide an overview of a specific image acquisition method and treatment response assessment for bone scintigraphy-based evaluation of bone lesions in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, in accordance with the PCWG3 guidelines.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.84 no.3
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• pp.520-535
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• 2023

Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is not a single disease but a symptom and clinical manifestation of a broad spectrum of conditions in the GI tract. According to its clinical presentation, GI bleeding can be classified into overt, occult, and obscure types. Additionally, it can be divided into upper and lower GI bleeding based on the Treitz ligament. Variable disease entities, including vascular lesions, polyps, neoplasms, inflammation such as Crohn's disease, and heterotopic pancreatic or gastric tissue, can cause GI bleeding. CT and conventional angiographies and nuclear scintigraphy are all radiologic imaging modalities that can be used to evaluate overt bleeding. For the work-up of occult GI bleeding, CT enterography (CTE) can be the first imaging modality. For CTE, an adequate bowel distention is critical for obtaining acceptable diagnostic performance as well as minimizing false positives and negatives. Meckel's scintigraphy can be complementarily useful in cases where the diagnosis of CTE is suboptimal. For the evaluation of obscured GI bleeding, various imaging modalities can be used based on clinical status and providers' preferences.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.155-158
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• 2010

Purpose: $^{99m}Tc$-macroaggregated albumin (MAA) hepatic arterial perfusion scintigraphy was known for useful method to evaluate patients receiving intraarterial chemotherapy for liver cancer. This study evaluate about usefulness of normal liver on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from HCC patients. This study is to see the usefullness of Hepatic Arterial Perfusion Scintigraphy (HAPS) by measuring mass size, shape, lung shunting and tumor to normal ratio (T/N ratio) in relative blood stream of HCC patients compared with HCC on normal liver. Materials and Methods: From June 2009 to September 2009, HAPS studies were performed on 7 patients (men 6, women 1, mean 64) who were diagnosed HCC. HAPS was performed after proper hepatic artery $^{99m}Tc$-MAA of 5 mCi (185 MBq) injection by catheter. We performed anterior, posterior, both lateral view, SPECT of chest and abdomen. Then we set up ROI and calculated lung shunting, T/N ratio for each count, count/pixel (mean value). Results: Tumor and liver size analyzed by ROI of anterior, posterior view are 2.0-10.8 cm (mean 3.75 cm), 8.8-18.5 cm (mean 14.6 cm). T/N ratio analyzed by total tumor and total normal mean value are 2.41-5.76 (mean 3.8). lung shunting analyzed by total liver count is 3.14-13.92% (mean 6.77%). Conclusion: HAPS with $^{99m}Tc$-MAA can evaluate mass size, location, quantitative analysis through T/N ratio. also HAPS can evaluate detection of arteriovenous shunt through lung uptake before radioisotope therapy. Therefore HAPS with $^{99m}Tc$-MAA can be useful method in aspect of evaluation and treatment of HCC.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.316-321
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• 2006

Purpose: Differential diagnosis between arteriovenous (AVMs) aud non-arteriovenous malformations (nAVMs) is important in patients with congenital vascular malformations, because AVMs can cause hemodynamic alteration and require immediate treatment. We investigated whether transarterial lung perfusion scintigraphy (TLPS) was useful for the diagnosis and post-therapeutic evaluation of AVMs in extremities. Materials and Methods: Fifty-seven patients (M:F=26:31, $21{\pm}13$ yr, 9 upper and 48 lower extremities) suspected of congenital vascular malformations in extremities underwent TLPS using $^{99m}Tc-MAA$ before embolization/sclerotherapy. Dose-corrected shunt fraction (SF) was calculated from time-activity curve of the lung. Final diagnosis of AVMs was determined by angiography. in patients with AVMs, follow-up TLPS was done for post-therapeutic evaluation. Results: Sixteen patients (8 upper and 8 lower extremities) had AVMs, while the remaining 41 had nAVMs (1 upper and 40 lower extremities). The mean SF of AVMs on TLPS was significantly higher than that of nAVMs ($66.4{\pm}25.8%\;vs.\;2.8{\pm}4.3%$), p=0.003). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of TLPS (cut-off of SF = 20.0%) in diagnosis of AVMs before treatment were 93.8% (15/16), 100% (41/41) and 98.2% (56/57), respectively. The follow-up TLPS and angiography for post-therapeutic evaluation showed concordant results in 13 of 16 patients (81.3%) with AVMs. The mean SF of TLPS was significantly decreased after embolization/sclerotherapy ($69.5{\pm}24.0%\;vs.\;41.0{\pm}34.7%$, p=0.01). Conclusion: TLPS provides hemodynamic information of AVMs in extremities semiquantitatively. Furthermore, the results of TLPS showed a high concordance rate with angiographic findings. Therefore, TLPS is useful for the diagnosis and post-therapeutic evaluation of AVMs in extremities.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.354-364
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• 1998

Purpose: Simple X-ray study and bone scan have limitations for early diagnosis of bone or bone marrow lesions in multiple myeloma. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of bone marrow immunoscintigraphy using anti-granulocyte monoclonal antibody for the evaluation of bone involvement in multiple myeloma. Materials and Methods: In 22 patients (Male: 15, Female: 7) with multiple myeloma, we performed whole-body immunoscintigraphy using $^{99m}Tc$-labelled antigranulocyte antibody (BW 250/183, Scintimum $Granulozyt^{(R)}$ CIS, France) and compared the findings with those of simple bone radiography and $^{99m}Tc$-MDP bone scan. Abnormal findings in bone marrow scintigraphy were, considered to be present in case of expansion of peripheral bone marrow or focal photon defect in axial bones. Results: Marrow expansion was noted in 15 of 22 patients (68%). Focal photon defects were found in 18 patients (82%). While one (33%) of 3 patients with Stage II disease showed focal defects in bone marrow scan, abnormal focal defects were observed in 17 of 19 (90%) patients with Stage III. Among 124 focal abnormal sites which were observed in bone marrow scan, bone scan or simple bone radiography, bone marrow scan detected 92 sites (74%), whereas 82 sites (66%) were observed in simple bone radiography(58 sites, 47%) or bone scan(40 sites, 32%). Fifty-one (41%) out of 124 bone lesions were detected by bone marrow scan only, and located mostly in thoracolumbar spine. Conclusion: Bone marrow scan using $^{99m}Tc$-labelled antigranulocyte antibody seems to be a more sensitive procedure for the detection of pathologic bone lesions than simple bone X-ray or bone scan in patients with multiple myeloma.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.6-14
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• 1997

To differentiate biliary atresia from intraheaptic cholestasis, Tc-99m DlSIDA hepatobiliary scintigraphies and percutaneous needle biopsies of 60 consecutive infants were evaluated retrospectively. Twenty three patients had biliary atresia and 37 patients intraheaptic cholestasis(neonatal hepatitis 34, TPN induced jaundice 2 and Dubin-Johnson syndrome 1). All sixty patients underwent Tc-99m DlSIDA hepatobiliary scintigraphy with phenobarbital pretreatment. Of 23 patients with biliary atresia, 22 were correctly interpreted showing 96% sensitivity while of 37 patients with intraheaptic cholestasis, only 12 had intestinal excretion of radionuclide showing 32% specificity. Among the forty needle biopsies, 17 of biliary atresia and 23 of intrahepatic cholestasis, 37 were correctly interpreted as either having biliary atresia or intrahepatic cholestasis. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 93%. Of 3 misdiagnosed cases, the histologic findings of two patients with biliary atresia(aged 43 days and 54 days at the first needle biopsy) were essentially the same as those of neonatal hepatitis. Follow-up biopsies, however, showed findings consistent with biliary atresia. The third one(VLBW premie with history of 8 weeks of TPN) showed mild ductal proliferation and portal fibrosis. This was interpreted as suspicious for biliary atresia. Jaundice resolved gradually. In summary, patients who have intestinal excretion of radionuclide on Tc-99m DlSIDA hepatobiliary scintigraphy, biliary atresia can be ruled out. But the patients who do not have intestinal excretion of radionuclide should have further investigation by needle biopsy. Judicious use of Tc-99m DISIDA hepatobiliary scintigraphy and percutaneous needle biopsy can give a diagnostic accuracy of 95% or more in cases of infantile cholestasis.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.120-130
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• 1999

Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of double-phase Tc-99m MIBI parathyroid scintigraphy with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in patients with hyper-parathyroidism. We also evaluated the relationship between Tc-99m MIBI uptake and oxyphil cell contents in parathyroid glands. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 28 parathyroid glands of 10 patients who underwent Tc-99m MIBI parathyroid scintigraphy and parathyroidectomy for clinically suspected hyper-parathyroidism. Early and delayed pinhole images were obtained at 15 minutes and 2 hours after injection of Tc-99m MIBI, and SPECT images were followed. The weight and oxyphil cell contents of parathyroid tissue were obtained from pathologic specimen, and the scintigraphic findings were compared with histopathology. Results: In surgical histopathology, 6 parathyroid adenomas and 9 parathyroid hyperplasias were confirmed. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of early and delayed images were 46.7% (7/15), 76.9% (10/13), 70% (7/10) and 66.7% (10/15), 92.3% (12/13), 90.9% (10/11), respectively. SPECT image detected an additional small hyperplasia.. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of combined interpretation of early and delayed images with SPECT were 73.3% (11/15), 100% (13/13), 100% (11/11). The sensitivity was 100% (6/6) for adenoma, whereas that was 55.5% (5/9) for hyperplasia. Both adenomas and hyperplasias showed significantly increased oxyphil cell contents compared with normal parathyroid glands (p<0.0001), but the oxyphil cell content and weight were not significantly different between adenomas and hyperplasias. Conclusion: Double-phase Tc-99m MIBI parathyroid scintigraphy with SPECT is useful for lesion localization in patients with hyperparathyroidism. Although both adenoma and hyperplasia have increased oxyphil cell content, the sensitivity is high in adenoma, but low in hyperplasia.