The role of tagged red blood cell imaging in the localization of gastrointestinal bleeding
D. E. Bentley and J. D. Richardson
Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Ky.
The records of 162 patients who underwent technetium-99m-tagged red blood
cell scans for the localization of gastrointestinal hemorrhage were
studied. Ninety-eight scans were read as positive, with bleeding sites
determined by a radiologist. Forty-six patients had a definitive diagnosis
made by other means. Tagged scans accurately localized the site of bleeding
in only 52% of cases. Analysis of the value of these tagged scans in
predicting a subsequent positive angiogram indicated that there were 14
positive and 12 negative angiograms of 26 positive scans. Of the nine
patients with negative scans who underwent arteriography, the arteriogram
was positive in five. These data suggest that tagged red blood cell
scanning is a poor diagnostic technique for the localization of
gastrointestinal bleeding, and its use as a screening tool before
angiography is questionable.
