NUCLEAR MEDICINE PREP INSTRUCTIONS

Our Centralized Scheduling staff will contact you to schedule your appointment

Nuclear Medicine is a branch of radiology that uses radioactive materials to determine if certain organs such as the heart, kidneys, liver, thyroid, brain and lungs are working properly. It is also used to examine the bones for cancer, infection or trauma.

BONE SCAN:

No preparation is necessary. You may eat, and are encouraged to drink extra fluids.

First appointment in the morning for injection: 20-30 minutes. Patient will return within 3 - 4 hours.

Limited Bone Scan - Limited to one area of the body. Scan will take approximately 30 minutes.

Limited Multi Bone Scan - Spine or more than one area. Scan will take approximately 45 minutes.

Whole Body Bone Scan - Whole body. Scan will take approximately 1 - 1.5 hours.

Three Phase Bone Scan - This scan is done for osteomyelitis or infection. First appointment in the morning is an injection with an immediate scan: 30-40 minutes. Patient will return within 3-4 hours. Scan will take approximately 45 minutes.

HEPATOBILIARY SCAN (HIDA):

Nothing to eat or drink, including water 6 hours prior to exam. No opiate pain medication 6 hours prior to scan. Scan will take 2.5 -4 hours.

LIVER/SPLEEN:

No patient prep is necessary. Scan will take approximately one hour.

LUNG SCAN (perfusion and/or ventilation):

No patient prep is necessary. Scan will take approximately 1 - 2 hours. The patient must have a chest x-ray within 24 hours prior to the scan.

MECKELS:

Nothing to eat or drink 6 hours prior to scan. No Barium studies within one week of this test. Scan will take approximately 1 hour.

RENAL SCAN:

No ACE inhibitors or diuretics 3 days prior to scan. Drink plenty of water the day before test. Scan will take approximately one hour.

THYROID SCAN:

No prep. Scan will take approximately 90 minutes.

THYROID W/UPTAKE I-123 SCAN

Patient must be off thyroid medication for 6 weeks and questionnaire must be completed prior to scan.

Must be scheduled prior to other exams using iodine contrast or must wait 6 weeks after any exams that iodine contrasts are given. The patient will be asked to swallow a radioactive capsule. Nothing to eat or drink 4 hours before taking the capsule and 1 hour after the radioactive capsule.

Patient will return 6 hours after swallowing the capsule for an uptake and scan that will take approximately 1 hour.

Patient will return 24 hours after swallowing the capsule for an uptake that will take approximately 15 minutes.

GASTRIC EMPTY:

Nothing to eat or drink, including water (NPO), 8 hours prior to the scan. The patient will eat a small amount of radioactive scrambled eggs or oatmeal and have an immediate scan that will be approximately 1 min. The patient will then have a 1 min scan each hour for the next 4 hours. (5 images total)

PARATHYROID:

The patient needs to be off thyroid medication for 5 days prior to scan. The patient will receive an injection and 5 immediate scans. First scans will take approximately 45 min. 2 hours after the injection the patient will receive 5 more scans taking approximately 45 min.

Other instructions for patients undergoing a Nuclear Medicine scan:

If you have any questions regarding your scan, contact the Radiology Department at (620) 325-8364.