Usefulness of gallium-67-citrate scans in patients with acute disseminated tuberculosis and comparison with chest x-rays.
Sixteen patients (4 females, 12 males; ages: 15-80 yr) were admitted to our hospital and diagnosed as having acute disseminated tuberculosis (TB). Gallium-67-citrate scans and chest x-rays were used to localize the TB. The results revealed that: (1) most patients had an underlying disease (malignancy or immunocompromise); (2) gallium lung scans demonstrated multiple patterns from a negative picture to greater than liver uptake (localized or diffuse); (3) the extrapulmonary TB focus could be clearly visualized by whole-body gallium scans; (4) most chest x-rays had a miliary pattern and few cases were negative or localized. A combination examination, including gallium scans and chest x-rays, is needed to avoid missing early diagnosis of acute disseminated tuberculosis, especially in high risk group patients.
Kao
C H
CH
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Wang
S J
SJ
Liao
S Q
SQ
Lin
W Y
WY
Hsu
C Y
CY
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002951:Citrates; D019343:Citric Acid; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D014391:Tuberculosis, Miliary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014915:Whole-Body Counting
D002951:Citrates; D019343:Citric Acid