Scanning of the Hepatic Blood Pool in the Differential Diagnosis of Space-Occupying Lesions of the Liver

Abstract

One hundred and sixty-two patients were studied with a combined scintigraphic method to improve the diagnostic accuracy of liver scanning. A liver scan with colloidal ^113mIn was performed first, followed by a scan with ionic ^113mIn to visualize the hepatic blood pool. In all cases the first scan showed one or more filling defects. The second scan showed an increase of radioactivity in the periphery of lesions in 96% of amebic abscesses and in all cases of cysts; radioactivity inside the lesion increased in 70% of primary and metastatic tumors. In a case of hemangioma, the increase of radioactivity inside the lession was greater than that peripherally. We concluded that liver scintigraphy with colloids can be considered a routine method for the localization of intrahepatic lesions, and ionic ^113mIn may be used optionally to obtain more information on the degree of vascularity inside the lesion, thus improving the differential diagnosis between tumors, cysts, and abscesses.