Hida Scan

A particular scan that caught my interest is the gallbladder scan, or commonly known as the Hepatobiliary Scan, (HIDA Scan). A few years back

The procedure to this scan is not too difficult. The entire study should take approximately about 2 hours. The usual adult dose is 1 to 5 mCi of the 99mTc IDA which is given intravenously. The children’s dose is a bit smaller. A child is given nothing less than 1 mCi or 38 MBq. A catheter is inserted into your vein at the hand or the arm and through that catheter bile tracer will be injected and images will be taken for the next sixty minutes. Imaging may begin immediately with the patient supine laying under a scintillation camera. It is very important that the patient is in a supine position with his/her abdomen in the field of view. Images of 500k to 1000k counts are obtained at 5-minute intervals for the first half hour of the test. Normally the gallbladder can be seen within the first half-hour of the study, as well as the bile ducts and the duodenum. Yet, this is not how it always works. If these images are not seen after the first hour then delayed imaging should continue being obtained for the next four hours. Not being able to see the gallbladder should only be considered abnormal when the small bowel is already visualized. Diagnosis of acute cholecystitis can be made only if the gallbladder has not filled by three to four hours after injection. In normal HIDA results the gallbladder will fill within 15 minutes and this uptake should precede the bowl visualization. This image should also let you know that the gallbladder is functioning.

This study can be done in children as well. The preparations for the test are very similar to those of the adult. The child should not eat for four hours prior to the test. Of course all pain medications that the child may be on need to be discontinued, and the child should not have any x-rays done 24 hour prior to the study. If tests have been done, it is important to let the physicians know so that certain precautions could be taken. The radiopharmaceutical is injected intravenously to the child as well through a small IV known as a butterfly. On children studies, the main difference is that during the test the child is strapped into a safety belt to decrease movement. Videos are available to keep the child’s mind busy and off the sounds of the testing. The study does not cause any pain to the child and will often take about 1 ½ -2 hours. There is absolutely no risk in the radioactive liquid. The amount given to him or her is determined by the weight and size of the child and is small enough to not pose a problem. After the test is complete the technologist or nurse will give the child’s parents special instructions. Normal activity can be resumed after the study. A doctor will soon receive the results and go over them with the patient.

The HIDA scan identifies diseased gallbladders and bile drainage problems. It also helps in determining if abdominal pain is related to gallbladder disease. In some cases doctors could run a number of studies and fail in discovering the problem, therefore with these scans doctors are more likely to pinpoint the problem. Some clinical indications for this test are acute (or chronic) cholecystitis (a cyst duct obstruction), calculation of gallbladder ejection fraction, evaluation of enterogastric reflux, and evaluation of the biliary system following surgery. More clinical indications include: (Pediatrics) biliary atresial versus neonatal hepatitis, (Jaundice) obstructive versus nonobstructive, and evaluation of cold defects seen on radiocolloid liver images. Symptom might include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, pain that seems to occurs after eating, high fever and rapid heart rate. One of the more significant uses for HIDA scan is the evaluation of patients suffering from upper abdominal pain. If the gallbladder cannot be seen, then the p

Some topics in this essay:
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