Radiopharmaceutical activities for nuclear medicine procedures in Brazilian states at Northeast Region

The use of radionuclides in medical practice, either for diagnosis or for treatment, has grown steadily in recent years due to the introduction of new radiopharmaceuticals and new equipments. This paper presents a survey of nuclear medicine procedures performed in Pernambuco, Paraiba and Alagoas, States located in the northeast region of Brazil, in order to help establish diagnostic reference activities for nuclear medicine patients in this country. Data were gathered on the type of radiopharmaceuticals used, the administered activity, the numbers of each kind of examination, and the age and sex of the patients involved over the period 2002-2004 in twelve nuclear medicine centres, it has been 7 in Pernambuco State, 4 in Alagoas State and 1 in Paraiba State. There were included procedures for: bone, brain, lung, thyroid, kidney, cardiovascular system and others. The results showed an annual increase in the nuclear medicine examinations during the period of study with an average annual frequency of 1.74 examinations/1,000 inhabitant. The cardiac scintigraphy is the most common procedures followed by bone scintigraphy and they are 42% and 17% of total of the exams, respectively. The results also indicated that the activities administered to patients are higher than the guidance levels of the Basic Safety Standards (BSS) in most of the kind of examinations. It is important to point out the need to continue the gathering of data in a wider scale survey, including another States in Brazil, to increase the knowledge about national trends. The differences found in the administered activities may reflect the differences in the quality assurance programs implemented and they shows the need to create an awareness about procedures optimization that will result in a better radiation protection of patients. (author)