Med Dosages

Question 1

What dose of tPA may be used to clear thrombosed central catheter lumens?

Answer 1

Catheters that are thrombosed may be cleared following administration of a thrombolytic agent (e.g., 2 mg of tPA, not 20 mg tPA) through the catheter lumens.

Question 2

What med and dose to give to evaluate HIDA scan chronic cholecystitis?

Answer 2

The pharmaceutical used for evaluation of chronic cholecystitis is sincalide, a synthetic C-terminal octapeptide of cholecystokinin. The Society of Nuclear Medicine suggests an infusion of 0.02 μg/kg over 60 minutes as one that can result in the least variability of reference values and may be considered the method of choice. The reference gallbladder ejection fraction (GBEF) with this methodology should be ≥ 38%.

Question 3

What are the ACR’s 2 monst frequently used elective premedication regimen for contrast?

Answer 3

The American College of Radiology (ACR) Contrast Manual lists the 2 most frequently used elective premedication regimen as: (1) Prednisone 50 mg by mouth at 13 hours, 7 hours, and 1 hour before contrast media injection, plus Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) 50 mg by mouth 1 hour before contrast medium; or (2) Methylprednisolone (Medrol) 32 mg by mouth 12 hours and 2 hours before contrast media injection.