Urinary Leak After Renal Transplantation Proven by SPECT-CT Imaging

Renogram in kidney transplant. Utility of delayed images with SPECT/CT in the diagnosis of urinary leak

Urinary leakage in patients with kidney transplantation is a relatively common surgical complication that requires early diagnosis and intervention. The isotopic renogram is a non-invasive and effective method to evaluate the perfusion and function of kidney transplantation, and allows us to diagnose urological complications such as urinary leakage. In these cases, it is useful to complete the study with planar images and delayed SPECT/CT to specify the diagnosis and locate the leak. We expose two cases diagnosed with urinary leak after performing a renogram with early and delayed planar images and delayed SPECT/CT a week after transplantation. In both cases, a percutaneous nephrostomy catheter was placed, as well as a double J catheter, resolving the surgical complication.

Incidental Detection of Bilateral Large Urinary Bladder Diverticulae on Tc99m Ethylene Dicysteine Renography with Single-photon Emission Computed Tomography-Computed Tomography

The complementary anatomical and functional information provided by hybrid imaging with single-photon emission computed tomography-CT (SPECT-CT) is a very useful imaging tool in selected cases where anatomical information is lacking as in the scenario of dynamic renal scintigraphy. The authors present a case of a 5-year-old male child with symptoms suggestive of cutis laxa with urinary tract infection. The child underwent dynamic renal scintigraphy with Tc99m ethylene dicysteine for cortical function and drainage assessment. Hybrid SPECT/CT proved valuable in the child in identification of the bilateral gross urinary bladder diverticulae.

Less commonly used and emerging clinical applications of SPECT-CT in benign and malignant disease

The emergence of hybrid imaging, combining anatomical computed tomography (CT) and functional single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), has greatly expanded the armoury available to image disease. Integrated SPECT-CT is a dual-modality technique, which improves the sensitivity and specificity of existing radionuclide studies and enables characterization of equivocal findings detected by conventional imaging. There is a wide range of established and emerging clinical applications for SPECT-CT, which were reviewed in detail at a symposium organized by the British Institute of Radiology in March 2012. A series of articles were commissioned as an adjunct to the symposium and to raise awareness of the clinical utility of this technique. The focus of this article is on less commonly used and emerging clinical applications of hybrid SPECT-CT in a spectrum of benign and malignant conditions. The article will illustrate the incremental value of the technique in a variety of clinical applications.

Extraperitoneal urinary bladder perforation detected by FDG PET/CT

Accurate localization of areas of increased metabolic activity on PET only imaging can be challenging. Fusion of PET with CT imaging provides anatomic detail which aids in localization of functional information. As a result, the overall sensitivity and specificity of information provided by PET or CT alone is improved with combined PET/CT resulting in improved diagnosis and patient management. We report a case of an unexpected emergent finding of urinary bladder perforation on PET/CT to stress the importance of accurately interpreting the anatomic and functional data. To our knowledge, diagnosis of bladder perforation on PET/CT has not been previously reported in the literature. Failure to recognize such complications may lead to adverse outcomes.