Scintigraphic diagnosis using sup(99m)Tc-gluconate of experimentally induced pericarditis in dogs

In five dogs pericarditis was induced by administering a solution of formaldehyde into the pericardium. The attempt to make a scintigraphic image of the thus induced pericarditis using sup(99m)Tc-gluconate seven days after the inflammation had been induced was negative in all five cases. An analysis of the radioactivity of tissue samples showed a statistically significant higher accumulation of the radiopharmaceutical in the inflamed pericardium as compared with the healthy myocardium but this difference did not suffice for a positive scintigraphic finding in vivo. Also found was high radioactivity in the blood of the heart cavities and in the scar following chest surgery. The study showed that sup(99m)Tc-gluconate is not suitable for the scintigraphic imaging of pericarditis. (author)