Abstract for presentation at 38th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine 2008

Prospective Evaluation of the Diagnostic Value of SPECT/CT

  • Rosalie Babicheva, Bankstown/Lidcombe Hospital, Australia
  • Dr Quee Li Chiam, Bankstown/Lidcombe Hospital, Australia
  • Dr Kien Lee, Bankstown/Lidcombe Hospital, Australia
  • Dr Hugh Dixson, Bankstown/Lidcombe Hospital, Australia
  • Dr Chuong Bui, Bankstown/Lidcombe Hospital, Australia
  • Dr Andrew Nguyen, Bankstown/Lidcombe Hospital, Australia
  • Dr Barry Elison, Bankstown/Lidcombe Hospital, Australia
  • Mr Mark Dobson and Mrs Barbara Bedford, Bankstown/Lidcombe Hospital, Australia

    • Our aim was to evaluate the incremental diagnostic value of a state of the art SPECT/CT camera. A six-slice Philips Precedence camera was recently installed so that SPECT studies could have CT for attenuation correction and anatomic localisation. All patients who had SPECT/CT were prospectively entered into the study. Reporting doctors compared the values of SPECT vs SPECT/CT in terms of change in diagnosis, more accurate diagnosis and increase in diagnostic confidence for each patient. CT was performed as part of a combined SPECT/CT scan. CT effective dose (E) of each patient was calculated by using DLP (dose-length product)and EDLP (region-specific normalised effective dose) with formula: E=EDLP x DLP. Patient BMI was calculated.

    There were 160 scans analysed: 83 bone scans had 36 changes in diagnosis, 56 more accurate diagnoses and 58 with increase in diagnostic confidence; and 77 MIBI scans had 6 changes in diagnosis, 9 more accurate diagnoses and 32 with increase in diagnostic confidence.
    Patients received an effective dose from the CT component of the bone scan ranging from 0.61 mSv to 22.39mSv (mean =5.80mSv, SD=5.04mSv) and of the MIBI scan ranging from 0.81mSv to 2.74mSv (mean=1.76mSv, SD=0.38mSv). Patient BMI ranged from 16 to 52 (mean=29).

    The improvements in change in diagnosis, more accurate results and increase in diagnostic confidence were not adversely affected in this selected group of patients by high BMI nor by low E.

    SPECT/CT is clinically helpful with the addition of a relatively small extra effective dose from the CT.

    Conference Organiser - ICMS Pty Ltd