What are the benefits vs. risks?

Benefits

• The information provided by nuclear medicine examinations is unique and often unattainable using other imaging procedures.
• For many diseases, nuclear medicine scans yield the most useful information needed to make a diagnosis or to determine appropriate treatment, if any.

Risks

• Because the doses of radiotracer administered are small, diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures result in low radiation exposure, acceptable for diagnostic exams. Thus, the radiation risk is very low compared with the potential benefits.
• Nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures have been used for more than five decades, and there are no known long-term adverse effects from such low-dose exposure. For more information about safety in pediatric radiology procedures, visit the Image Gently website.
• Allergic reactions to radiopharmaceuticals may occur but are extremely rare and are usually mild. Nevertheless, you should inform the nuclear medicine personnel of any allergies your child may have or other problems that may have occurred during a previous nuclear medicine exam.