Clinical Values of Whole-Body Blood Pool Scans and SPECT for Evaluation of Congenital Vascular Malformation

Junik Son; Chae Moon Hong; Jaetae Lee; Ho Yun Chung; Byeong-Cheol Ahn

doi:10.1007/s13139-023-00835-0

Clinical Values of Whole-Body Blood Pool Scans and SPECT for Evaluation of Congenital Vascular Malformation

Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2024 Apr;58(2):69-80. doi: 10.1007/s13139-023-00835-0. Epub 2024 Jan 11.

Authors

Junik Son¹, Chae Moon Hong^{1

2}, Jaetae Lee^{1

2}, Ho Yun Chung^{3

4}, Byeong-Cheol Ahn^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Nuclear Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, 130 Dongdeok-Ro, Jung Gu, Daegu, Republic of Korea 41944.
² Departments of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
³ Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Vascular Anomalies Center, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 38510824
PMCID: PMC10948652 (available on 2025-04-01)
DOI: 10.1007/s13139-023-00835-0

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines the diagnostic potential of whole-body blood pool scintigraphy (WBBPS) using technetium-99 m-labeled red blood cells to detect congenital vascular malformations (CVMs). It aims to compare its efficacy with traditional imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (USG), emphasizing its potential advantages in terms of characterization of lesions and capacity for whole-body assessment.

Methods: The efficacy of WBBPS and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) imaging in diagnosing CVMs, comparing them with USG and MRI results, was evaluated in this retrospective study. Of the 38 patients, 21 were evaluated using these diagnostic methods, with CVMs classified according to the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies guidelines. Also, this study aimed to elucidate the characteristics between WBBPS, SPECT/CT, USG, or MRI findings and their consistency with the final diagnosis.

Results: A total of 21 participants were included in this study, with an average age of 17.7 years old, with female predominance (57.1%). The most common diagnosis was vascular malformations (VMs) (71.4%), followed by combined vascular malformations (14.3%) and lymphatic malformations (9.5%). WBBPS demonstrated positive results in 95.2% of cases. Distinct imaging patterns for each condition were observed, with WBBPS being crucial in locating lesions.

Conclusion: The study findings suggested that WBBPS with SPECT/CT could be helpful in detecting occult VM lesions and ruling out a lymphatic malformation diagnosis. Thus, it can be employed in the evaluation of CVMs.

Keywords: 99mTc-labeled red blood cells; Congenital vascular malformation; Lymphatic malformation; SPECT/CT; Venous malformation; Whole-body blood pool scintigraphy.

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