title: Hepatobiliary scintigraphy in acute cholecystitis.
abstract: Hepatobiliary scintigraphy is a mature imaging technique for evaluation of patients with acute cholecystitis (AC). It is effective in calculous and acalculous forms of AC. The test is used in contemporary medical practice as the arbiter when the findings from screening abdominal ultrasound do not fit a clinical picture. It is also performed in severely ill patients who have AC suspected on other testing, but whose frail condition and high operative risk demand the highest level of certainty. This review, therefore, examines all technique variations of hepatobiliary scintigraphy, offering an approach that may best fit a variety of clinical situations and philosophies on AC.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. mtulchin@psu.edu
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tulchinsky
authors.forename: Patrick M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Colletti
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Allen
mesh_terms: D001659:Biliary Tract / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D041881:Cholecystitis, Acute / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging / Q000379:methods*