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Clinical Use of Radionuclide Bone Imaging in a University Medical Center
Stephan D. Fihn, MD, MPH;
Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH;
Thomas R. Rudd, MD;
Wil B. Nelp, MD
JAMA. 1982;248(4):439-442.
Abstract
To assess the diagnostic utility of radionuclide bone imaging, we reviewed all examinations performed during a two-year period in a university medical center. The indication(s) for each bone image and its interpretation were compared by reviewing requisition forms and medical records. Thirty-nine percent of 988 studies demonstrated relevant abnormalities. Yields of pertinent positive findings were greatest in patients with cancers of the breast (40%) and prostate (38%) and lowest in women with uterine cancer (15%), patients with previously normal bone images, and individuals with suspected but unconfirmed malignancy. Incidental findings, unrelated to the indication for imaging, occurred frequently (up to 41% of cases). We did not find a sizable number of negative studies that could readily be labeled as unnecessary, suggesting that bone imaging is generally a useful procedure as applied by physicians in this setting.
(JAMA 1982;248:439-442)
Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Medicine (Drs Fihn, Larson, and Nelp) and Nuclear Medicine (Drs Rudd and Nelp), University of Washington, Seattle. Dr Fihn was a Public Health Service Fellow in the University of Washington, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. Dr Larson is a Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Faculty Scholar in General Internal Medicine.
Footnotes
The opinions expressed herein reflect those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Public Health Service, or the Kaiser Foundation.
Reprint requests to Department of Medicine, RG-20, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (Dr Larson).
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