A COMPARISON BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL SCINTIGRAPHY AND EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY WITH TL-201 IN THE DETECTION OF MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION - CONCISE COMMUNICATION

Abstract

Emission tomography and conventional scintigraphy were compared with 201Tl in a series including 15 normal subjects and 64 patients showing transmural myocardial necrosis in various locations, fully documented by clinical, ECG and enzymatic evidence. The reconstruction was derived from 32 projection images collected around the left side of the patient''s chest by a rotating scintillation camera. The conventional views and the transverse, frontal and sagittal sections were interpreted independently by 2 observers. The final calculated sensitivity was 89% with conventional scintigraphy and 98% with emission tomography, and the specificity was 93% in the 2 cases. Emission tomography provides a better sensitivity and also a better interobserver agreement than conventional scintigraphy in the detection of transmural myocardial necrosis with 201Tl.