Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology (Korean J Nucl Med Technol)

Open access, Peer Reviewed

Indexed in KCI, DOAJ

pISSN 1229-9901
eISSN 2982-8406

Original article

The Effect of Contrast Agent on the Change of Hepatic Uptake of 99mTc-Mebrofenin in Patients with Liver Transplantation

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea

Correspondence to Sang-Hyeong Kil, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, 20, Geumo-ro, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 50612, Republic of Korea, Tel :+82-55-360-1910, E-mail : rlf1007@naver.com

Volume 28, Number 1, Article 4, May 2024. Korean J Nucl Med Technol 2024;28(1):4. https://doi.org/10.12972/kjnmt.20240004
Received on March 25, 2024, Revised on May 08, 2024, Accepted on May 08, 2024, Published on May 31, 2024.
Copyright © 2024 Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose: 99mTc-mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) is an important and clinically useful diagnostic imaging study for detecting complications after liver transplantation. CT contrast agents due to their high atomic numbers, lead to a decrease in gamma ray count rates. This study investigated the impact of CT contrast agents on the uptake of 99mTc-mebrofenin in the liver. Materials and Methods: The quantitative HBS was performed on sixty-two liver transplantation patients (male:female=36:26), with a mean age of 59.4±6.4 years. Statistical comparison of hepatic uptake reduction ratio (HURR%) before and after the injection of CT contrast agents was performed using a paired t-test. Results: Hepatic uptake of the reduction ratio was 94.47±3.65% for the preCT contrast agents and 92.17±4.00% for the post-CT contrast agents. HURR% after CT contrast agent injection showed a statistically significant difference compared to before the injection (t=11.09, P<0.001). Conclusion: It will be necessary to pay attention when examining the HBS of patients with liver transplantation after the injection of CT contrast medium. It is advisable to schedule the examination on a different day to prevent residual contrast medium in the body from interfering with the quantitative evaluation of the nuclear medicine examination.
Keywords

CT contrast agents, Hepatobiliary scintigraphy, 99mTc-mebrofenin, Liver transportation, Hepatic uptake of reduction ratio

Section