title: Incidentally recognised thyroid focal uptake of 99mTc-sestamibi during stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  99mTc-sestamibi, a radiopharmaceutical widely used in the assessment of myocardial perfusion, can be used as an indicator of thyroid disease due to its oncophilic character. The aim of this study was to establish the usefulness of performing additional examinations of radiotracer uptake in the thyroid gland during standard stress scintigraphy with sestamibi in order to identify thyroid diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  After a retrospective evaluation of 330 consecutive myocardial perfusion scintigraphies performed in our hospital during one year, 41 patients with a focal accumulation of 99mTc-sestamibi in the thyroid were enrolled in the study. The patients underwent clinical examinations, including thyroid ultrasonography and TSH, fT4, fT3, aTPO, TRAB, calcitonin, and CEA levels. Based on the thyroid ultrasounds, 21 patients were referred for fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the thyroid.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An abnormal accumulation of radiotracer in the thyroid was found in 41(12.4%) of 330 patients who underwent stress cardiac scintigraphy. Thirteen (31.7%) of those patients had multinodular euthyroid goitres, 12 (29.2%) had a single thyroid nodule (including two autonomous nodules), 11 (26.8%) had autoimmune thyroid disease, and one (2.4%) had papillary thyroid carcinoma. In 12 (29.2%) with thyroid tracer uptake there was no thyroid pathology.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Additional evaluation of radiotracer uptake in the thyroid during standard myocardial perfusion scintigraphy is a valuable tool in the detection of thyroid diseases. The additional or parallel evaluation of radiotracer uptake in the thyroid should be considered during every myocardial scintigraphy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Isotope Therapy, Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw. kgiejda@wim.mil.pl.
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Giejda
authors.forename: Stanisław
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piszczek
authors.forename: Zofia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Stembrowicz-Nowakowska
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saracyn
authors.forename: Mirosław
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dziuk
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kamiński
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary; D005260:Female; D006044:Goiter, Nodular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055414:Myocardial Perfusion Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi; D000077273:Thyroid Cancer, Papillary; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi
keywords: myocardial scintigraphy; sestamibi; thyroid autoimmune disease; thyroid cancer; thyroid nodules