Performing nuclear medicine examinations in pregnant women

Physica Medica : PM : an International Journal Devoted to the Applications of Physics to Medicine and Biology : Official Journal of the Italian Association of Biomedical Physics (AIFB)
Paolo Zanotti-Fregonara, Elif Hindie

Abstract

The number of nuclear medicine examinations performed worldwide has been steadily increasing over the last few years. By consequence, an ever increasing number of pregnant women are likely to be exposed to radioisotopes. The range of doses encountered in nuclear medicine practice is well below the threshold for deterministic effects, such as embryonic death, birth defects or mental retardation. According to the linear no-threshold hypothesis, however, stochastic effects (e.g. an increased risk of cancer) remain possible even at this dose range. This purely hypothetical radiation risk to the fetus should however be put in perspective with the risk of having a scan of low diagnostic quality for a life-threatening medical condition. In recent years there has been a push to reduce as much as possible the dose from radiological imaging, for example by using acquisition protocols specific to pregnant women and by injecting lower activities. These approaches, in our opinion, overweigh the radiation risk and actually may put the life of both the mother and the fetus in danger. Since imaging protocols already seek to use the lowest possible dose compatible with a quality scan for all patients, pregnant women should be imaged using the p...Continue Reading

Citations

Aug 31, 2018·Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions : Official Journal of the Society for Cardiac Angiography & Interventions·UNKNOWN Writing Committee MembersBarbara S Wiggins
Nov 8, 2019·Prenatal Diagnosis·Sandra A Lowe
Sep 17, 2019·Obstetric Medicine·Sandra Lowe
Dec 16, 2020·Radiation Protection Dosimetry·Yong LiJiabao Wu
Jan 27, 2018·Journal of Nuclear Medicine : Official Publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine·Tianwu XieHabib Zaidi

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