Delayed gastric emptying and typical scintigraphic gastric curves in children with gastroesophageal reflux disease: could pyloromyotomy improve this condition?

Background/purposes: Delayed gastric emptying (DGE) is a cofactor in the etiopathogenesis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Scintigraphy is the criterion standard to evaluate gastric emptying (GE). This study aims to define typical scintigraphic activity-time curves (ATCs) related to DGE and esophageal atresia (EA) and to demonstrate the effectiveness of pyloromyotomy (P) in improving GE.

Particular imaging features and customized thermal ablation treatment for intramedullary osteoid osteoma in pediatric patients.

Objective: To report on the particular imaging features and high success rate of cold mode radio-frequency thermal ablation (RFTA) as the treatment of choice for intramedullary osteoid osteoma.

Materials And Methods: The study population consisted of 51 patients (39 males, 12 females; mean age 7.2 years; 11 patients under 6 years of age, including 7 males and 4 females) who underwent RFTA for osteoid osteoma and were retrospectively observed.

Rhabdomyosarcoma associated hypertrophic osteoarthropathy in a child: detection by bone scintigraphy.

Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA) is characterized by digital clubbing, long bone periosteal reaction, and polyarthralgias. Primary familial HOA is very rare and is not associated with underlying disorders and has a good prognosis. Secondary pediatric nonneoplastic HOA is associated with cystic fibrosis, congenital heart disease, biliary atresia, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Guidelines for lung scintigraphy in children.

The purpose of this set of guidelines is to help the nuclear medicine practitioner perform a good quality lung isotope scan. The indications for the test are summarised. The different radiopharmaceuticals used for the ventilation and the perfusion studies, the technique for their administration, the dosimetry, the acquisition of the images, the processing and the display of the images are discussed in detail.

Experimental determination of the radionuclide calibrator setting for Technesium-99m, by using a primary standardisation method.

Background: A new 99mTc national standard has been developed at the Italian National Metrology Institute for Ionizing Radiation quantities of ENEA (ENEA-INMRI).

Methods: The stock radioactive solution was prepared at the Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù (OPBG) and standardized at the ENEA-INMRI by using the 4pigamma absolute measurement method. The new standard was used to calibrate the dose calibrator of the OPBG Nuclear Medicine Unit (NMU) and the ENEA-INMRI portable ionization chamber which was employed as the secondary standard measurement system to calibrate the dose calibrator of another Italian nuclear medicine unit.