Radionuclide evaluation of pleural-peritoneal shunt before pleurodesis.
OBJECTIVE
Talc pleurodesis can be offered to patients with hepatic hydrothorax. The authors wanted to determine their patient's eligibility for talc pleurodesis by excluding a pleural-peritoneal shunt.


METHODS
The authors measured the size of the talc particles and matched them with the radionuclide particle size. After injecting radiopharmaceutical into the pleura, the authors imaged the abdomen for possible migration.


RESULTS
In their patient, there was no migration of radionuclide from the thorax into the abdomen.


CONCLUSIONS
Injecting radionuclide into the thoracic cavity and then imaging for an extended period of time is one way to determine whether the patient has a pleural-peritoneal shunt.
Department of Radiology, St. Luke's Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53215, USA. kerri_dias@aurora.org
Kerri
K
Dias
Shanker
S
Raja
Timothy
T
Strane
Shekhar
S
Sane
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006876:Hydrothorax / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D018579:Patient Selection; D010536:Peritoneovenous Shunt / Q000379:methods; D018700:Pleurodesis / Q000379:methods; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013627:Talc / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013627:Talc; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid