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In this case, we demonstrated a ureteric stone that resembled bone metastasis. Because bone-seeking radiopharmaceuticals are excreted into the urine by the kidneys, normal kidneys and bladder are well visualized on skeletal scintigraphs leading to incidental detection of urinary tract abnormalities. Bone tracer uptake related to ureteral stones has been reported [Figure 1] several times before. We present a right ureteral stone mimicking abnormal focal sacral uptake on planar scan in a patient with rectal cancer. This case emphasizes the importance of using single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography to determine the cause of abnormal uptake on a planar scan., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Indian Journal of Nuclear Medicine.)

Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is an uncommon malignancy. The majority of PTLs are non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) is the state-of-the-art imaging in lymphoma and plays a pivotal role in staging, follow-up, and treatment decisions. There is good evidence that it performs well in a wide variety of nodal and extranodal lymphomas (ENL). However, the data are scarce on its usefulness in rare ENL. Herein, we describe four cases of PTLs and a brief review of the literature. FDG PET/CT was performed at baseline to assess the disease status and response to treatment. This case series highlights the varied appearance of PTL and response to treatment. It establishes the importance of FDG PET/CT in the personalized management of PTL., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Indian Journal of Nuclear Medicine.)

Background & Objectives: COVID-19 pandemic has triggered social stigma towards individuals affected and their families. This study describes the process undertaken for the development and validation of scales to assess stigmatizing attitudes and experiences among COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 participants from the community., Methods: COVID-19 Stigma Scale and Community COVID-19 Stigma Scale constituting 13 and six items, respectively, were developed based on review of literature and news reports, expert committee evaluation and participants' interviews through telephone for a multicentric study in India. For content validity, 61 (30 COVID-19-recovered and 31 non-COVID-19 participants from the community) were recruited. Test-retest reliability of the scales was assessed among 99 participants (41 COVID-19 recovered and 58 non-COVID-19). Participants were administered the scale at two-time points after a gap of 7-12 days. Cronbach's alpha, overall percentage agreement and kappa statistics were used to assess internal consistency and test-retest reliability., Results: Items in the scales were relevant and comprehensible. Both the scales had Cronbach's α above 0.6 indicating moderate-to-good internal consistency. Test-retest reliability assessed using kappa statistics indicated that for the COVID-19 Stigma Scale, seven items had a moderate agreement (0.4-0.6). For the Community COVID-19 Stigma Scale, four items had a moderate agreement., Interpretation & Conclusions: Validity and reliability of the two stigma scales indicated that the scales were comprehensible and had moderate internal consistency. These scales could be used to assess COVID-19 stigma and help in the development of appropriate stigma reduction interventions for COVID-19 infected, and mitigation of stigmatizing attitudes in the community.

Purpose of the Study: 18 F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ( 18 F-FDG PET/CT) is used in the management of recurrent differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients presented with rising thyroglobulin (Tg) or anti-Tg antibody (Atg) levels and negative whole-body I-131 scan (WBS). We aimed to evaluate the utility of regional or limited PET/CT in a large population preset with variable Tg/(ATg) levels., Materials and Methods: In a retrospective study, we analyzed 137 PET/CT done on DTC patients presented with raised Tg/Atg and negative WBS. Retrospective evaluation of other available clinical information was done., Results: One hundred and thirty-seven patients aged 8-72 years (41 ± 17.7 years) were included in the study. Eighty-nine (64.9%) patients had positive findings on 18 F-FDG PET-CT. It included thyroid bed recurrence, cervical, mediastinal lymphadenopathy, lung, and bone lesions. In addition, 36 patients had metabolically inactive lung nodules detected on CT. Serum Tg and female sex were the only predictors for a positive PET scan. In most (97.1%) of the patients, the disease was limited to the neck and thoracic region., Conclusions: PET/CT is an excellent imaging modality for evaluating DTC patients presented with biochemical recurrence. It not only finds the disease in more than 80% of the patients but also detects distant metastatic disease, which precludes regional therapies. Lesions were noted mostly in the neck and thoracic region with very few distant skeletal metastases (4/137 patients). In most of the patients, routine vertex to mid-thigh imaging could be avoided., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2020 Indian Journal of Nuclear Medicine.)

Tc-99m-methylene diphosphonate (MDP) bone scintigraphy is mainly directed toward identifying sites of altered skeletal metabolism and abnormal foci of calcium phosphate deposition due to various etiologies. One of the requirements of an ideal bone scintigraphy is little or no extraosseous uptake. Nonosseous uptake of MDP in the bone scintigraphy is an unusual finding. We report a case of carcinoma prostate referred for bone scan, where diffuse hepatic and splenic uptake has been seen on the bone scan. However, on a further repeat bone scan, there was no nonosseous uptake., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2020 Indian Journal of Nuclear Medicine.)

Aim: Gastric emptying (GE) scintigraphy is commonly used as a standard diagnostic procedure for the assessment of functional dyspepsia (FD). Results of the study are often reported as either normal or delayed GE times. The aim of this study was to recognize various patterns of scintigraphy among both normal and abnormal emptying times., Materials and Methods: Fifty patients with suspected FD were included in the study. GE study was performed with a standardized vegetarian solid meal., Results: Out of 50 patients, 33 patients had deranged GE. Thirty patients had delayed GE. Three patients demonstrated gastric hurrying. Five different patterns were demonstrated in patients having similar emptying and retention times such as reduced fundus compliance, decreased fundic accommodation, antral dysmotility, gastric hurrying, and gastroesophageal reflux., Conclusion: According to our findings, it may be suggested that visual assessment of GE and identification of various pattern is a very important aspect of the GE study. It not only subcategorized patients but also decreases the number of "normal" studies. This finding may have an impact on patient management in the era of personalized medicine., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

The present case highlights the importance of history taking in solving the dilemmas of variant F-18 FDG uptake on PET/CT. Asymmetrically increased, abnormal looking, FDG uptake in the right breast of our patient was related to her breast feeding practice. Because of personal preference the patient suckled her child from the right breast only. This resulted in asymmetry of size, increase in glandular breast parenchyma and FDG uptake in the breast that was suckled.

Background & Objective: While evaluating the effectiveness of drugs used for the prophylaxis of acid aspiration of gastric contents, the impact of duodeno-gastric reflux on gastric contents has not been studied earlier. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of preanaesthetic oral administration of sodium rabeprazole on pH and volume of gastric contents in adult patients undergoing elective surgery by excluding cases contaminated with duodeno-gastric refluxate., Methods: The patients in group C (control) in the triple blind placebo controlled trial received placebo while group S sodium rabeprazole 20 mg orally at 2100 h, a night before elective surgery. Next day, gastric contents were aspirated with a large bore, multi-orifices gastric tube passed through an endotracheal tube placed blindly in oesophagus after tracheal intubation and analyzed for the presence of bile salts, pH and volume. The pH and volume of gastric contents were the primary and duodeno-gastric reflux secondary outcome measures of the study., Results: The pH and volume of group S-2 were 3.97+/-1.78 and 9.48+/-8.39 ml respectively compared with 1.90+/-0.47 and 19.60+/-18.56 ml of group C-2. Sodium rabeprazole, after excluding contaminated cases with duodeno-gastric refluxate, significantly increased the pH (P<0.001), decreased the volume of gastric contents (P<0.005) and the proportion of the patients (30.76 vs 2.63%) considered at risk compared with placebo (P<0.001) according to the criteria defined (pH < 2.5 and volume > 25 ml). Thirty nine samples (33.33%) out of 117 were contaminated with duodenal contents. Duodenogastric reflux significantly (P<0.001) affected pH and volume of gastric in both groups C-1 vs C-2 and S-1 vs S-2., Interpretation & Conclusion: Sodium rabeprazole 20 mg given orally a night before surgery provided adequate prophylaxis for acid aspiration syndrome at the time of induction of anaesthesia and duodeno-gastric reflux significantly affected both the pH and volume of gastric contents.

Aortic dissection may be associated with renal disease. The presentation, especially in the later stages of the process, includes proteinuria, hematuria and impairment of renal function. Thus the clinical picture may be confused with glomerulonephritis or hypertension. We present a case of ischemic nephropathy resulting from involvement of the right kidney by an aortic dissection. The pateint presented with the nephrotic syndrome some two and a half months after the probable time when the aortic disection had occurred. At that time the initial back and flank pains had disappeared. Ultrasound examination revealed a smaller right kidney, compared to the left one. Imaging techneques, initaited for suspected renal artery stenosis, revealed aortic dissection involving the right renal artery starting from the descending aorta, distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery and extending down to the right common iliac artery; occluding the right renal artery. The medical literature is reviewed for patients presenting with ischemic nephropathy and the mechanisms of proteinuria discussed. We conclude that ischemic nephropathy can clinically mimic glomerulonephritis and can be missed if it is not included in the differential diagnosis of patients who present with heavy proteinuria and hypertension.