The Clinical Dilemma of Incidental Findings on the Low-Resolution CT Images from SPECT/CT MPI Studies

Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology

Joanne Coward¹  Peter Hogg¹  Julie Nightingale¹ 

[1] Directorate of Radiography, School of Health Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, United Kingdom Directorate of Radiography, School of Health Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, United Kingdom Directorate of Radiography, School of Health Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, United Kingdom

关键词: SPECT;    low-resolution CT;    myocardial perfusion imaging;   

DOI  :  10.2967/jnmt.116.174557

学科分类：医学（综合）

来源: Society of Nuclear Medicine

【 摘 要 】

Incidental findings are common in medical imaging. There is a particularly high prevalence of incidental findings within the thorax, the most frequent being pulmonary nodules. Although pulmonary nodules have the potential to be malignant, most are benign, resulting in a high number of false-positive findings. Low-resolution CT images produced for attenuation correction of SPECT images are essentially a by-product of the imaging process. The high number of false-positive incidental findings detected on these attenuation-correction images causes a reporting dilemma. Early detection of cancer can be beneficial, but false-positive findings and overdiagnosis can be detrimental to the patient. Attenuation-correction CT images are not of diagnostic quality, and further diagnostic tests are usually necessary for a definitive diagnosis to be reached. Given the high number of false-positive findings, the psychologic effect on the patient should be considered. This review recommends caution when the findings on attenuation-correction CT images are routinely reported.

【 授权许可】

Unknown