Bone scintigraphy

It is used to assess the skeletal system in case of various disorders. In the oncological field it is used for the evaluation of metastases, in primary bone neoplasms and in the assessment of treatment response. In addition, it is used in the evaluation of cardiac amyloidosis and in orthopedic and rheumatologic studies.

• Oncological (metastases, primary bone neoplasms, response to anticancer treatments)
• orthopedic/rheumatologic (osteomyelitis, joint prostheses/synthetic devices)
• cardiac amyloidosis

No pharmacological or dietary preparation is required to perform the examination. However, it is important to inform the nuclear physician of any current or previous therapies (chemotherapy, cortison therapy, radiotherapy), as well as previous traumas or fractures. The radiopharmaceutical, injected into the arm vein, is distributed through the vascular system to the skeleton within 2 to 3 hours.  It is advisable to drink 3 or 4 glasses of water during the waiting hours, in order to optimize the quality of the images of the bones and to urinate frequently because the radiopharmaceutical that does not bind in the bones is eliminated with the urine. The duration of the examination is about 20 minutes during which the patient must remain lying still on a bed, while the gamma camera slowly slides from head to toe to obtain images of the whole body. The stay in the department is approximately 3 hours.

Documentation of medical history and previous examinations (bone scintigraphy, CT, MRI, RX...) is required. It is advisable to stay away from pregnant women and young children after the examination for the day of the examination..