Tc99m-HMPAO white blood cell scintigraphy: added value of SPECT/CT for infection diagnosis in cardiothoracic surgery


Submitted: 27 September 2011
Accepted: 2 February 2012
Published: 3 February 2012
Abstract Views: 2704
PDF: 1810
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

We report a case of a woman who came to our attention because of fever and a sternal fistula draining purulent fluid. Four years before, she had undergone cardiothoracic surgery to place a patch because of a myocardial rupture. Under suspicion of a deep mediastinal infection, a Tc99m-HMPAO white blood cell (WBC) scintigraphy was performed. The use of planar imaging and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT/CT) imaging allowed the identification of a sternal infection, which involved the anterior mediastinum up to pericardium and diaphgram. SPECT/CT led to a precise diagnosis of a thoracic infection, providing the location and extent of the disease. This turned out useful to improve therapeutic strategies.

Prandini, N., Panareo, S., Cultrera, R., Peterle, C., de Cristofaro, V., Roncali, M., de Biasi, V., Badia, L., & Feggi, L. (2012). Tc99m-HMPAO white blood cell scintigraphy: added value of SPECT/CT for infection diagnosis in cardiothoracic surgery. Chest Disease Reports, 3(1), e5. https://doi.org/10.4081/cdr.3.230

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations