75SeHCAT whole body retention for unexplained chronic diarrhoea based on early first whole body counting

Background There are many protocol variations in the whole-body 75SeHCAT retention test [whole-body retention (WBR)] for investigation of bile acid diarrhoea. The time between capsule consumption and first count, however, is widely taken, without debate, to be 3 h. In the Covid-19 era, it is desirable to limit the time patients spend in the department. We, therefore, questioned the need for a 3 h interval between capsule administration and the initial count. Methods Using an uncollimated gamma camera, whole-body counting was performed at 5, 30 and 180 min after capsule ingestion in 24 patients with chronic diarrhoea. Geometric mean was taken of counts acquired from posterior and anterior projections. WBR was expressed as the ratio of 7 day-to-initial whole-body counts (%) to give WBR5, WBR30 and WBR180. A small meal was given at 60 min after capsule ingestion. Results There was a close correlation between WBR30 and WBR180 (y = 1.0x − 0.29%; r = 0.99). For WBR180 values of
Source: Nuclear Medicine Communications - Category: Nuclear Medicine Tags: Technical Notes Source Type: research