CASE REPORTS Tc-99m-LabeledRedBlOOdCellsin the Evaluationof VascularAbnormalities

SclntigraphywithTc-99m-Iabeledred bloodcells was usedto evaluatefive pa tients wIth suspected vascular abnormalitIes. The technique was useful for the imaging of large areas of the body and In obtaIning muftiple views. Conventional radionuclldeangiographyis of limitedusefulnessIn suchcases. JNucIMed 22: 149—151,1981 Technetium-99m-labeled red bloodcells are limited to the in travascular Space.They are usedextensivelyin nuclearcardiology and recentlyfor evaluationofgastrointestinal bleeding.This report presents fivecases in which Tc-99m-labeled red bloodcells were used to evaluate patients with vascular abnormalities. METHODS In Cases I, 2, and 3, red blood cells were labeled in vitro (1) using a commercial kit and 15mCi of Tc-99m as pertechnetate. Whole-body imageswere obtained using a scanning table and a gamma camera. In Cases4 and 5, redblood cells @‘erelabeled in vivo (2). Radionuclide angiography was performed with I5 mCi of pertechnetate 30 mm after an injection from a commercial kit. At the completion of dynamic angiography, static studies of the headwere done in the anterior, posterior, and both lateral views, collecting 400,000counts for eachview. CASE REPORTS Case I. A 15-month-oldboy presented with a growingmasson the lateralaspectof hisright thigh.The masshada soft,“lipoid― consistency,was not pulsating, and the skin overlying it wasof normal appearanceand temperature. An hemangiomatousmass was also found on the left shoulder. The relationship of the two lesions,their vascular nature, and the possiblepresenceof occult lesions were uncertain. Whole-body scintigraphy with Tc-99m-labeled red blood cells showedboth lesionsto be highly vascular and did not revealother abnormalities (Fig. I). Contrast angiog raphy showeda typical hemangioma