Clinical indications for optimal use of the radionuclide brain scan

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Abstract
Radionuclide brain scans (427) performed in 1981 at Guy''s Hospital Nuclear Medicine Department [London, UK], were reviewed retrospectively to define clinical circumstances in which the study provided useful information. Apparently, the radionuclide brain scan was the appropriate 1st line investigation in patients with known non-cerebral malignancy, in whom the possibility of cerebral metastases exists; and in patients with a low to moderate probability of subdural hematoma. The radionuclide brain scan can provide a valuable alternative to computed tomography studies: in patients without known underlying disease who develop localizing signs; in patients with focal fits; in patients with underlying vascular disease and gradual onset of localizing signs; and in patients with suspected inflammatory conditions of the central nervous system. Outside these groups, the radionuclide brain scan rarely provided useful information.