Incidental findings in traditional nuclear medicine practice

Abstract

The presence of an incidental finding, defined as an abnormality which is unrelated to the initial scanning indication, is widely increases due to the access to new devices and imaging modalities. This growing number of incidental findings can lead to additional medical care including unnecessary tests nevertheless, in a minority of patients, can lead to diagnosis of an important and unexpected condition that could be crucial for the patient. We reported three cases in which nuclear medicine imaging, performed for different reasons and showed a relevant and unexpected pathology. In the case 1, a bone scan, performed in a 66 aged woman for breast cancer staging, allowed the diagnosis of a uterine fibroma. In the case 2, a HMPAO labeled-WBC scintigraphy performed because of a suspect of osteomyelitis, showed a remarkable heart-shaped photopenic area, highly suggestive of cardiac global dilatation. In the case 3, a 62 aged man referred to bone scintigraphy for the staging of recent diagnosed lung cancer. The bone scan allowed the diagnosis of a meningioma. Therefore, the occurrence of incidental findings could lead to reveal relevant abnormalities for the diagnostic pathway.