Cholescintigraphy

Cholescintigraphy
Intervention
Normal hepatobiliary scan (HIDA scan). The nuclear medicine hepatobiliary scan is clinically useful in the detection of the gallbladder disease.
ICD-9-CM	92.02
OPS-301 code:	3-707.6

A cholescintigraphy or Hepatobiliary Imino-Diacetic Acid scan, (HIDA scan) is a nuclear imaging procedure to evaluate the health and function of the gallbladder. A radioactive tracer, usually technetium-99m, is injected through any accessible vein, then allowed to circulate to the liver, where it is excreted into the biliary system and stored by the gallbladder and biliary system.^[1]

In the absence of disease, the gallbladder is visualized within 1 hour of the injection of the radioactive tracer. If the gallbladder is not visualized within 4 hours after the injection, this indicates either cholecystitis or cystic duct obstruction. This investigation is usually conducted after an ultrasound examination of the abdominal right upper quadrant for pain. If the non-invasive ultrasound examination fails to demonstrate gall stones (or other obstruction to the gall bladder or biliary tree) in an attempt to establish a cause of right upper quadrant pain, this HIDA scan can be performed as a more sensitive and specific test. HIDA scans are not generally done first line due to their increased cost and invasiveness.

Cholescintigraphy for acute cholecystitis has sensitivity of 97%, Specificity of 94%.^{[2][citation needed]}

Imino-Diacetic Acid is rarely used currently, as better contrast materials have replaced it, but the term HIDA remains.

See also

• Iminodiacetic acid

References

1. ^ Michael, Picco, M.D.. "HIDA scan (cholescintigraphy): Why is it performed?". Mayo Clinic. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hida-scan/AN00424. Retrieved 2007-12-11. 
2. ^ Harvey A. Ziessman. Nuclear Medicine Hepatobiliary Imaging. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Volume 8, Issue 2, February 2010, Pages 111-116.