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The SNMMI and EANM practice guideline for renal scintigraphy in adults

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Abstract

Purpose

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is an international scientific and professional organization founded in 1954 to promote the science, technology, and practical application of nuclear medicine. The European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) is a professional nonprofit medical association that facilitates communication worldwide between individuals pursuing clinical and research excellence in nuclear medicine. The EANM was founded in 1985. SNMMI and EANM members are physicians, technologists, and scientists specializing in the research and practice of nuclear medicine.

Methods

The SNMMI and EANM will periodically define new guidelines for nuclear medicine practice to help advance the science of nuclear medicine and to improve the quality of service to patients throughout the world. Existing practice guidelines will be reviewed for revision or renewal, as appropriate, on their fifth anniversary, or sooner, if indicated.

Conclusion

Each practice guideline, representing a policy statement by the SNMMI/EANM, has undergone a thorough consensus process in which it has been subjected to extensive review. The SNMMI and EANM recognize that the safe and effective use of diagnostic nuclear medicine imaging requires specific training, skills, and techniques, as described in each document. Reproduction or modification of the published practice guideline by entities not providing these services is not authorized.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the EANM board, the EANM national delegates, the of the EANM Committees, and members of the SNMMI Committee on Guidelines for their contributions to this manuscript.

The SNMMI Procedure Standards Committee consists of the following individuals:

Dominique Delbeke, MD, PhD, FSNMMI (Chair; Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN); Kevin J. Donohoe, MD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA); Helena Balon, MD (Beaumont Health System, Royal Oak, MI); Twyla Bartel, DO, MBA, FACNM (Global Advanced Imaging, PLLC, Little Rock, AR); Vasken Dilsizian, MD (University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD); James R. Galt, PhD (Emory University Hospital, Atlanta, GA); Jay A. Harolds, MD (Advanced Radiology Services, PC, Grand Rapids, MI); J. Anthony Parker, MD, PhD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA); Lynne T. Roy, MBA, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS (Cedars/Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA); Heiko Schoder, MD (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY); Barry L. Shulkin, MD, MBA (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN); Michael G. Stabin, PhD (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN); Mark Tulchinsky, MD, FACNM, CCD (Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA); Bennett Greenspan, MD, FACNM, FACR (Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA); Darko Pucar, MD, PhD (Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT); David Brandon, MD (Emory University, Atlanta, GA); Erica Cohen, DO, MPH, CCD, FACNM (Edward Hines VA, Hines, IL); Laurel Campbell, BS, CNMT, RT(N)(CT) (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA); Perry Gerard, MD (Woodmere, NY); Pradeep Bhambhvani, MD (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL); Aaron Jessop, MD, MBA (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN); Alan Packard, PhD (Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA); Amir Khandani, MD (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC).

The EANM Board consists of the following individuals:

Jolanta Kunikowska, MD, PhD (Nuclear Medicine Department, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland); Francesco Giammarile, MD, PhD (Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging Section, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria); Willem J.G. Oyen, MD, PhD (The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Nuclear Medicine, London, UK); Jan Pruim, MD, PhD (Medical Imaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands); Roberto Delgado Bolton, MD, PhD (University Hospital San Pedro, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain); Kristoff Muylle, MD (UniversitairZiekenhuisBrussel-VUB, Brussels, Belgium).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    M. Donald Blaufox

  2. Nuclear Medicine Service, ASST-Settelaghi, Varese, Italy

    Diego De Palma

  3. Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Andrew Taylor

  4. The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Zsolt Szabo

  5. Biophysics and Nuclear Medicine Department, Bicêtre Hospital, University of Paris-Sud, Paris, France

    Alain Prigent

  6. Department of Nuclear Medicine, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Martin Samal

  7. Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Philadelphia VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Yi Li

  8. Hospital Cuf Descobertas, Lisbon, Portugal

    Andrea Santos

  9. Barts Health NHS Trust, Department of Nuclear Medicine, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, UK

    Giorgio Testanera

  10. MS Hershey Medical Center, Penn State University, Hershey, PA, USA

    Mark Tulchinsky

Authors
  1. M. Donald Blaufox
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  2. Diego De Palma
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  3. Andrew Taylor
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  4. Zsolt Szabo
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  5. Alain Prigent
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  6. Martin Samal
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  7. Yi Li
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  8. Andrea Santos
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  9. Giorgio Testanera
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  10. Mark Tulchinsky
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego De Palma.

Ethics declarations

Approval

These procedures were approved by the SNMMI and EANM Boards.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval: This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Preamble

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) and the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) have written and approved guidelines to promote the use of nuclear medicine procedures with high quality. These guidelines are intended to assist practitioners in providing appropriate nuclear medicine care for patients. They are not inflexible rules or requirements of practice and are not intended, nor should they be used, to establish a legal standard of care. For these reasons and those set forth below, the SNMMI and EANM caution against the use of these guidelines in litigation in which the clinical decisions of a practitioner are called into question.

The ultimate judgment regarding the propriety of any specific procedure or course of action must be made by medical professionals taking into account the unique circumstances of each case. Thus, an approach that differs from the guidelines does not necessarily imply that the approach was below the standard of care. To the contrary, a conscientious practitioner may responsibly adopt a course of action different from that set forth in the guidelines when, in the reasonable judgment of the practitioner, such course of action is indicated by the condition of the patient, limitations of available resources, or advances in knowledge or technology subsequent to publication of the guidelines.

The practice of medicine involves not only the science, but also the art of dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, alleviation, and treatment of disease. The variety and complexity of human conditions make it impossible at times to identify the most appropriate diagnosis or to predict with certainty a particular response to treatment. Therefore, it should be recognized that adherence to these guidelines will not assure an accurate diagnosis or a successful outcome. All that should be expected is that the practitioner will follow a reasonable course of action based on current knowledge, available resources, and the needs of the patient to deliver effective and safe medical care. The sole purpose of these guidelines is to assist practitioners in achieving this objective.

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Blaufox, M.D., De Palma, D., Taylor, A. et al. The SNMMI and EANM practice guideline for renal scintigraphy in adults. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 45, 2218–2228 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-018-4129-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-018-4129-6

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