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Answer to Question #4220 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"Category: Nuclear Medicine Patient Issues — Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field: Q
What are the health risks of a nuclear bone scan and the probabilities of experiencing these risks? A
After more than 30 years in nuclear medicine and nuclear pharmacy, I never saw an adverse reaction from a bone scan. There have been some reports of some, but they are exceedingly rare. Under "Adverse Reactions" in the Bracco package insert for its bone scan agent (99mTc Medronate), it says the following. "Several adverse reactions due to MDP-Bracco have been reported. These were usually hypersensitivity reactions characterized by itching, various skin rashes, hypotension, chills, nausea, and vomiting. There have also been rare cases of dizziness and asthenia associated with the use of technetium Tc 99m medronate." The radiation absorbed doses are very low, that is, 0.13 rads total body dose per 20 millicurie administered activity, and are not associated with any known risk. Carol S. Marcus, PhD, MD
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