Nuclear: Pulmonary Flashcards
What are the usual reasons a V/Q scan is done instead of a CTPA?
- Contrast allergy
- Very low GFR
What radiotracer is used for the perfusion portion of a V/Q scan?
Tc-99m MAA (macro aggregated albumin)
Note: This is made by heat denaturation of human serum albumin and selecting a particular particle size to keep the particles trapped in pulmonary capillaries (MAA does not enter systemic circulation until it breaks down).
What is the biologic half life of Tc-99m MAA?
~4 hours
What radio tracers are used for the ventilation portion of a V/Q scan?
- Xenon 133 (radioactive gas)
- Tc-99m DTPA (radioactive aerosol)
Which portion of the V/Q scan needs to be performed first?
Ventilation
Note: This is because the radio tracers used for ventilation (Xe/DTPA) have lower energy and would be drowned out by the perfusion radiotracer (MAA).
What is the half life of Xenon-133?
- 30 seconds (biological half-life because you breath it out)
- 5.3 days (physical half life)
What are the 3 phases of the ventilation portion of a V/Q scan?
- Wash in (single maximum inspiration breath hold)
- Equilibrium (normal breathing with room air/xenon mix)
- Wash out (breathing normal air)
What radiotracers are used for a quantitative perfusion study prior to lung resection?
Xenon-133 and Tc-99m MAA
Note: You can not use Tc-99m DTPA for the ventilation portion of a quantitative perfusion scan because it will interfere with the Tc from the MAA.
V/Q scan
Right-to-left shunt (e.g. ASV, VSD, pulmonary AVM)
Note: Uptake in brain, kidneys, spleen, etc. indicated that radiotracer made it into systemic circulation via a shunt.
How big should Tc-99m MAA particles be?
10-100 micrometers
Note: If smaller than 10, the MAA won’t be trapped in pulmonary circulation and will escape to systemic circulation. If larger than 100, the particles may block arterioles.
Why might you reduce the number of Tc-99m MAA particles you use for a V/Q scan?
- Pt has fewer than normal pulmonary capillaries (e.g. pt is a child or only has 1 lung; you don’t want to block more than 0.1% of pulmonary capillaries)
- Known right-to-left shunt (to minimize blocking capillaries in the brain)
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Pregnant pt
Note: The Tc dose will be the same, just added to fewer particles.
V/Q scan
Right-to-left shunt
V/Q scan
Clumped MAA (due to inadvertent drawing of blood into the MAA syringe before injection)
V/Q scan
Normal perfusion
Prominence of the pulmonary fissures (“fissure sign”):
- Pleural effusion
- Pleural scarring/thickening
- COPD
V/Q scan
Normal ventilation study
V/Q scan
Xenon-133 uptake in the liver, suggestive of hepatic steatosis (xenon is fat soluble)
Which radiotracer is this?
Tc-99m DTPA
Note: V/Q scan with clumping in the mouth, central airways, and stomach (due to swallowing/aspirating DTPA in saliva).
How can you tell whether Xenon or DTPA was used for the ventilation portion of a V/Q scan?
DTPA will have multiple projections (xenon has a very fast washout so there is usually only time for 1 or 2 projections)
DTPA may show “clumping” in the mouth, central airways, and stomach (due to swallowed/aspirated DTPA in saliva)