Nuclear Medicine Patient Preparation: Patient instructions vary by ...

Nuclear Medicine Patient Preparation:
Patient instructions vary by test:
Bone Scan:
• No prep.
• Patients receive IV injection and return in 2 hours.
Captopril Renal Scan (For Hypertension):
• Prep – nothing to eat 4 hours prior to exam time but drink 2-3 glasses
of water before arrival.
• No Diuretics for 24 hours. (drug used to treat hypertension, heart
failure, liver and kidney disease)
• No ACE inhibitors for 48 hours. (meds. for high blood pressure and
congestive heart failure).
• Patients are given a pill and wait 1 hr (stay in hospital).
• Patients get IV injection and then pictures for about ½ hr.
Gallium Scan:
• Prep: NO barium study in the past week.
• Patients receive IV injection on the first day, THEN return 3 days
after the injection.
Gated Cardiac Scan or MUGA (Wall Motion and Ejection Fraction):
• No prep.
• Patients receive IV injection and approx. 20 minutes later receive
another injection.
• Patients are placed under camera for pictures for ½ hr.
Hemangioma Scan OR Red Blood Cell liver (Tagged) Scan:
• No prep.
• Test will require 2 injections 20 minutes apart.

• The second injection will be a small amount of radioactive material
followed by immediate images.
• A second set of images will be performed 1 hour later.
• Test will require 2 hours in total.
IDA/HIDA Scan (Gallbladder):
• Prep: No breakfast (nothing to eat 4 hours prior to exam)
• No barium studies in the past week
• Off pain medication for 4-6 hours prior to study.
• Patient receives IV injection
• Pictures take 1 ½ hrs.
Indium Scan or WBC Scan:
• Prep: No barium studies in the past week.
• Patient arrives at 8:00 a.m. for 5 minutes (they take blood).
• Patient come back at 10:30 a.m., blood is put back.
• Patient arrive back in 45 mins (11:15 a.m.) for pictures.
• Patients come back at 2:30 p.m until 3:00-3:30 p.m, for more pictures
• Patient comes back the next day for pictures at 8:00 a.m.
Lung Scan (Ventilation, perfusion scan or V/Q scan)
• No prep.
• Patient will breathe in a radioactive mist for 5-10 minutes followed by
images of the lungs.
• An injection will be administered and more images will be taken.
• Test will take 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Meckels Scan:
• Prep- NO barium studies in the past week.
• Nothing to eat 4 hours prior to exam
• Patients are given IV injection then pictures are done every 5 minutes
for approx. ½-1 hour.
MIBI stress test
• No caffeine after midnight the night before the exam.

Parathyroid Scan
• Prep. – nothing to eat 4 hours prior to exam.
• A small radioactive injection is given and images are taken 20
minutes later.
• Images take 45 minutes and are repeated 3 hours later.
• The patient may eat in between sets of images.
Renal Scan (DTPA):
• No prep.
• Patients receive IV injection.
• Pictures are taken for about 30 minutes.
• Take pictures right away – might have to take more pictures.
Salivary Glands:
• Nothing to eat 4 hours prior to exam.
• Procedures last ½ -1 hour.
Sentinel Lymph Node
• Patient registers in day surgery
• Prep- Nothing to eat or drink starting at midnight, the night before the
procedure. The morning of procedure you may have liquids,
excluding milk products (Given by day surgery)
• Maybe done in conjunction with wire loc.
Spleen/Liver Scan:
• No prep.
• Patients receive IV injection.
• Patients wait approx. 20 minutes, then pictures are taken for about 15-
20 mins.
Thyroid Scan (RAI Uptake):
• Prep - patient cannot be on thyroid medication for 3 weeks (i.e.
Synthroid, Eltroxin)
• Must be off thyroid suppression medications for 1 week prior to study.
(i.e. Tapazole).

• NO CT using contrast for the past 3 months.
• Patient will receive a pill in the morning. In afternoon (6 hrs later)
patients will return for 5 minutes.
• The next morning patients are given an IV injection and pictures are
taken 15-20 minutes after injection for 1 hour.
Voiding Cystogram
• No prep.
• Patient will have catheter inserted and bladder filled with saline and
trace amount of radioactivity.
• Procedure will take approx. 30-45 minutes.
Whole Body Iodine Scan
• No prep.