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The purpose of this study is to check for the presence of tumours with neuro-endocrine receptors in your body.
On arrival you will receive an injection containing a small amount of radioactivity into a vein in your arm. The scan is carried out 10 minutes later. After emptying your bladder, you will be asked to lie down on a couch, and a picture of your body will be taken by a gamma camera. In order to get good quality pictures the gamma camera will be close and you will have to remain still. The picture takes 20 minutes. You do not normally need to take off clothing. Only removal of jewellery or metal objects is required .The picture is repeated the following day, for duration of approximately 1 hour.
If you are pregnant, or you think you might be pregnant, you need to inform your doctor or the Nuclear Medicine staff before attending your appointment. In general, exposure to radiation during pregnancy should be kept to a minimum and it may be necessary to postpone your scan. The present guidelines recommend that breast-feeding needs to be stopped for 12 hours if the mother is undergoing this test; however, it is advisable to feed the baby before the injection and to express and discard any milk secreted over the 12 hours following the injection.
We would prefer that you do not bring more than one person with you. It is advisable not to have a pregnant woman or a small child with you. This is to avoid exposing them to unnecessary radiation. It is also preferable to avoid prolonged close contact (hugging a child / sitting a child on your knee for more than half an hour) for the rest of the day.
You may eat and drink normally. Certain compounds in cough medicine as well as ear, eye or nose drops contain drugs which block MIBG uptake and interfere with the test. Contact the Department, and lets us have a full list of your drugs. In order to prevent the uptake of free radioactivity by your thyroid gland, it will be necessary for you to take Potassium Iodide tablets. These will be given to you when you arrive in the department. You will be asked to take a tablet with a glass of milk before your injection. You will then need to take a second tablet in the evening. Two tablets need to be taken the following day, one in the morning and one in the evening . All tablets should be taken with a glass of milk. Please follow the instructions on the bottle.
You may feel a slight pinprick from the injection needle. Our doctors will be available during your stay in the department to answer any queries and to provide medical cover in case of any side effect from the injection we give you (please note that side effects are extremely rare).
The amount of radioactivity you receive in this study is strictly within the recommended national level. At this level, the benefit to you from a diagnosis of your condition outweighs the risk (negligible) of any harm associated with the radiation you will receive.
You may eat as normal. The more fluid you drink the better, as the radioactivity is passed out in the urine. No extra precautions need to be taken when passing urine.
The Nuclear Medicine doctor will report on the study and the result will be sent to the doctor who requested the study. He/she will be able to discuss the results with you in relation to other tests you may have had.