Clinical usefulness of 201Tl-chloride scintigraphy for the preoperative identification of the abnormal parathyroid

Preoperative scintigraphy with 201Tl-chloride was performed in 7 patients with hyperparathyroidism. The diagnostic usefulness of 201Tl-chloride in the parathyroid tumors was proved by the results of surgical explorations. In 7 patients 10 lesions were identified at operation. Eight of these 10 lesions were correctly predicted on the preoperative scintigraphy. Overactive lesions of the parathyroid were clearly visualized from 5 to 30 minutes after administration of 201Tl-chloride. The abnormality was better recognizable with simultaneous presentation of 201Tl-chloride image and sup(99m)TcO4- thyroid image and/or subtraction image. (author)