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Vertebral Uptake of Tc-99m Macroaggregated Albumin (MAA) with SPECT/CT Occurring in Superior Vena Cava Obstruction

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Abstract

A 67-year-old male presented with dyspnea for which lung scintigraphy was ordered to rule out pulmonary embolus. Planar images demonstrated abnormal midline uptake of Tc-99m macroaggregated albumin, which SPECT/CT localized to several thoracic vertebrae. Thoracic vertebral uptake on perfusion lung scintigraphy was previously described on planar imaging. Radionuclide venography and contrast-enhanced CT subsequently demonstrated superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction with collateralization through the azygous/hemiazygous system and vertebral venous plexus. SPECT/CT differentiated residual esophageal/tracheal ventilation activity, a clinically insignificant finding, from vertebral uptake indicative of SVC obstruction, a potentially life-threatening condition.

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The manuscript has not been published before or is not under consideration for publication anywhere else and has been approved by all co-authors. No funding was obtained from any source.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. C02.8711 Nuclear Medicine Department, Royal Victoria Hospital, 1001 Decarie Boulevard, Montréal, Québec, H4A 3J1, Canada

    Shawn Karls, Hani Hassoun & Vilma Derbekyan

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  1. Shawn Karls
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  2. Hani Hassoun
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  3. Vilma Derbekyan
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Correspondence to Shawn Karls.

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Shawn Karls, Hani Hassoun, Vilma Derbekyan declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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The study was approved by an institutional review board or equivalent and has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All subjects in the study gave written informed consent or the institutional review board waived the need to obtain informed consent.

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Karls, S., Hassoun, H. & Derbekyan, V. Vertebral Uptake of Tc-99m Macroaggregated Albumin (MAA) with SPECT/CT Occurring in Superior Vena Cava Obstruction. Nucl Med Mol Imaging 50, 266–269 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13139-015-0372-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13139-015-0372-y

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