SPECT/CT superior for spotting gastrointestinal bleeding

Kathy Mahdoubi | | Health Imaging | Molecular Imaging

When compared to planar technetium-99m imaging, SPECT/CT was more adept at finding the source of acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeds, according to a study presented May 8 during the 2014 annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society held in San Diego.

Results of the study suggested that SPECT/CT improves localization of GI bleeds, especially for patients with previous surgeries rendering uncommon GI anatomy, which planar imaging may not be able to image as sensitively.

Investigators including Ajit H. Goenka, MD, from the Cleveland Clinic, are encouraged by the results of the comparison study, which revealed SPECT to have a 100 percent sensitivity for detecting such bleeding, caused by any number of conditions.

"Judicious utilization of hybrid SPECT/CT for localization of the site of GI bleeding has the potential to improve clinical care by eliminating the ambiguities of planar scintigraphy," Goenka said in a press release. "Based on the performance of SPECT/CT in this study, we are [working] to make it a routine practice at our institution."

Kathy Mahdoubi

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