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The use of 201Tl scintigraphy as a routine imaging modality in the follow-up of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is controversial. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and clinical impact of routine 201Tl scintigraphy in the follow-up of patients with DTC.Three hundred and twenty-one patients (261 women, 60 men) with DTC (243 papillary thyroid carcinomas, 78 follicular thyroid carcinomas) were enrolled in this study. Two hundred and seventy-six patients underwent total or near total thyroidectomy (group 1) and 45 patients underwent subtotal thyroidectomy or unilateral lobectomy (group 2). A total of 1523 201Tl scintigraphy examinations were performed between 1987 and 2003. The duration of follow-up ranged from 13 to 204 months. 201Tl scintigraphy was performed 10 and 60 min after intravenous administration of 74 MBq 201Tl chloride.In group 1, 55 recurrent lesions were confirmed in 39 patients. In a patient-based analysis, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of 201Tl scintigraphy for detecting recurrent DTC were 71.8%, 98.3%, 87.5%, 95.5% and 94.6%, respectively. In a lesion-based analysis, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of 201Tl scintigraphy were 63.6%, 99.7%, 89.7%, 98.5% and 98.3%, respectively. Of the 35 thallium-positive recurrent lesions, 21 (60%) were removed by surgery and seven (20%) were treated with external-beam radiation therapy. All the thallium-negative recurrent lesions were treated with 131I therapy. The difference between the management of thallium-positive and thallium-negative recurrences was statistically significant (P0.001). In group 2, 10 recurrent lesions were confirmed in seven patients. In a patient-based analysis, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of 201Tl scintigraphy for detecting recurrent DTC were 85.7%, 94.7%, 75%, 97.3% and 93.3%, respectively. In a lesion-based analysis, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of 201Tl scintigraphy was 80%, 97.5%, 80%, 97.5% and 95.6%, respectively. All of the seven patients were treated with completion of total thyroidectomy and subsequent 131I ablation therapy.201Tl scintigraphy was not a highly sensitive imaging modality in routine follow-up of patients with DTC after total thyroidectomy. However, it had a clinical impact on the choice of optimal therapeutic approaches. In the follow-up of patients who underwent partial thyroidectomy, 201Tl scintigraphy was useful in the detection of recurrent DTC.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text, The purpose of this study was to determine the relevance of standardized uptake value (SUV) on [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), focusing on tumor and bone marrow, to disease outcomes based on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) receiving rituximab-containing chemotherapy. We reviewed the records of patients with DLBCL who were diagnosed between September 2009 and January 2013 and underwent pretreatment whole-body FDG PET/CT scans. All patients received rituximab-containing chemotherapy. The maximal SUV of tumor (SUVt) and maximal SUV of sternum (SUVst) were measured. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the prognostic significance of SUVt, SUVst, gender, age, clinical stage, international prognostic index (IPI), and laboratory tests. There were total 70 patients enrolled in this study. The median follow-up time was 36 months. An SUVt cut-off value of ≥19 had the best discriminative yield for PFS (P = .04). An SUVst cut-off value of ≥1.6 had the best discriminative yield for OS. The 3-year OS rates for patients with maximal SUVst

Ninety patients with old myocardial infarction were studied to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous dipyridamole 201 Tl imaging for the detection of myocardial ischaemia in post-infarction patients, and to compare the prevalence of ischaemia in 63 patients with post-infarction angina (group I) and 27 patients without angina (group II). Thirty-four of the patients in group I and 15 of the patients in group II received coronary arteriography (CAG) for comparison; these were labelled groups IA and IIA, respectively. On 201 Tl imaging, the incidence of scar with ischaemia in the infarct zone and scar with ischaemia at a distance were 72% and 42% in all patients, 89% and 52% in group I vs 33% and 19% in group II (P 0.05, respectively). Thus, dipyridamole 201 Tl imaging is a useful modality and post-infarction angina a proper indicator in the detection of myocardial ischaemia in post-infarction patients.

A hydrocele is a collection of fluid within the tunica or processus vaginalis. Most pediatric hydroceles are congenital and adult hydroceles are usually secondary. The latter can present acutely from local injury, infection, radiotherapy, or increased intraabdominal pressure. A 53-year-old man with underlying liver cirrhosis was admitted for dyspnea and abdominal distention. Massive ascites with swelling of the right hemiscrotum was noted. A communicating hydrocele was detected by peritoneal scintigraphy. After surgical repair of the communicating shunt by a Bassini procedure, the problem of the right hydrocele was resolved.