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The purpose of this study is to detect the presence of any tumour with neuro-peptide receptors in your body.
On arrival you will receive an injection containing a small amount of radioactivity into a vein in your arm. You will be asked to return to the Department approximately 1 hour later for a scan. You will lie down on a couch, and pictures will be taken of your body using a gamma camera. The scan will take 30 minutes. More pictures will be taken 4-6 hours later and will comprise a planar image of 30 minutes duration (as in the 1 hour image), and a SPET image where the gamma camera will move around part of your body for 50 minutes. A further picture will be taken at 24 hours that may be either planar or SPET or both. The entire scan should last 90 minutes.
Prior to the 4-6 and 24 hour images you will be asked to remove clothing and metal objects which also includes rings and watches, and to change into a hospital gown. In order to get good pictures the camera will be close and you will have to remain still.
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. There is presently no evidence that the labelled octreotide accumulates in breast milk, however, it is advisable to feed your infant before the scan and then to express and discard any breast milk produced for the next 48 hours.
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 next 2 days.
You may eat and drink as normal. If you are having Octreotide injections, these need to be stopped for 1 day prior to our injection.
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 rare side effect from the injection we give you.
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. If you stopped your Octreotide, please resume as normal after imaging on the third day.
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.