title: Radionuclide venography as a clue to the diagnosis of Budd-Chiari syndrome.
abstract: A patient was examined with radionuclide venography (RVG) to investigate unilateral leg oedema which might be due to deep vein thrombosis. RVG with Tc-99m MAA demonstrated no findings to suggest deep vein thrombosis of the right leg. However, collateral flow derived from the left common iliac vein and truncated inferior vena cava (IVC) were revealed. Contrast venography confirmed the obstruction of IVC and collateral flow from the left common iliac vein to the left ascending lumbar vein. It also showed the obstruction of hepatic veins and the patient was finally diagnosed as Budd-Chiari syndrome. Although unilateral leg oedema is an atypical symptom in Budd-Chiari syndrome, the findings on RVG led us to conduct further imaging studies to reach the diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tsukamoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shirato
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tamaki
mesh_terms: D006502:Budd-Chiari Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004487:Edema / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011875:Radionuclide Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D013668:Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin; D013924:Thrombophlebitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D013668:Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin; C082426:technetium Tc99m-mercaptoacetyl albumin