title: Usefulness of gallium-67-citrate scans in patients with acute disseminated tuberculosis and comparison with chest x-rays.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: S Q
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Hsu
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D002951:Citrates; D019343:Citric Acid