2Department of Nuclear Medicine, İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul-Türkiye DOI : 10.5505/tjo.2022.3385 OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to calculate embryo/fetal doses in pregnant women who received 99mTc-labeled radiopharmaceuticals for SPECT/CT scan.
METHODS
Embryo/fetal doses were estimated for 74 pregnant women underwent SPECT/CT scan from different
regions of Turkey. OLINDA/EXM package program was used for radiation dose calculation from internal
emitters, while CT dose was calculated from modified soft-tissue CT dose index.
RESULTS
The highest embryo/fetal dose was found in 99mTc- methoxy isobutyl isonitrile (MIBI) myocardial perfusion
scintigraphy (MPS) as (8.88+5.55=14.43 mGy) from both distinct modes (stress and rest imaging).
The embryo/fetal dose from MPS slightly increased to 15.63 mGy with the CT dose contribution.
Whereas, 99mTc- dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) static renal scintigraphy recorded the lowest embryo/
fetal dose among the other diagnostic procedures (mean 1.06 mGy).
CONCLUSION
The embryo/fetal doses increased with simultaneous CT scans in nuclear medicine modalities. Questioning
pregnancy before scintigraphy is obligatory the first-line strategy to avoid radiation exposure risks.