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The purpose of this study is to take a picture of your thyroid gland. This will help the doctor diagnose your condition, and give appropriate treatment as required.
On arrival you will receive an injection containing radioactivity into a vein in your arm. A Nuclear Medicine doctor will feel your neck. A scan will be carried out 20 minutes after the injection, and will involve you lying down on a couch, with your shoulders on a pillow so that your neck is extended. Two pictures will be taken using a gamma camera positioned over your neck. The first picture is a marker picture to establish the position of the thyroid, and will take 10 seconds. The second picture is of the thyroid and will last 10 minutes. In order to get good quality pictures the camera will be close and you will have to remain still. You do not normally need to take off any clothing, but jewellery and metal objects around the neck region must be removed.
If you are pregnant, or you think you might be pregnant, you need to inform your doctor or the Nuclear Medicine staff before attending your appointment. In general, exposure to radiation during pregnancy should be kept to a minimum and it may be necessary to postpone your scan. Also let us know if you are breast-feeding. The present guidelines recommend that breast-feeding is interrupted for 24 hours after the injection.
We would prefer that you do not bring more than one person with you: It is advisable not to have a pregnant woman or a small child with you. This is to avoid exposing them to unnecessary radiation. It is also preferable to avoid prolonged close contact (hugging a child / sitting a child on your knee for more than half an hour) for the rest of the day.
You may eat and drink as normal. Please tell us if you are on any thyroid medication and iodine-containing supplements (propylthiouracil, meprobamate, phenylbutazone, sulphonamides, corticosteroids, ACTH, perchlorate, antihistamines, enterovioform, iodides, Lugol's solution, vitamin preparations, iodine ointments, amiodarone, and iodine contrast media): these interfere with the thyroid test.
The needle prick from the injection may hurt a little. The doctors will be available during your stay in the department to answer any query and to provide medical cover in case of any rare side effect from the injection we give you.
The amount of radioactivity you receive in this study is strictly within the recommended national level. At this level, the benefit to you from a diagnosis of your condition outweighs the risk (negligible) of any harm associated with the radiation you will receive.
You may eat as normal. The more fluid you drink the better, as the radioactivity is passed out in the urine. No extra precautions need to be taken when passing urine.
The Nuclear Medicine doctor will report on the study; the result will be sent to the doctor who requested the study. He/she may be able to discuss the results with you, in relation to other tests you may have had.