The role of single photon emission computed tomography combined with computed tomography in the diagnosis of pathology of the parathyroid glands

Actuality: Surgical intervention is a required radical treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism. The absence of preoperative localization of the parathyroid glands leads to relapse in 19% of treated patients. Introduction of the new hybrid radioisotope imaging techniques (SPECT-CT) into clinical practice opens new perspectives for exact localization of the parathyroid glands. Objective: to explore the potential of SPECT-CT in the diagnosis of adenoma and hyperplasia of the parathyroid glands. Materials and Methods: the retrospective analysis was performed using the diagnostic results (planar scintigraphy, SPECT-CT, blood chemistry) of 20 patients suffering from hyperparathyroidism. Results: SPECT-CT imaging has improved the visualization accuracy of the foci accumulation by 43.7 % compared with SPECT and planar scintigraphy. Conclusions: SPECT-CT of the neck in addition to the conventional parathyroid scintigraphy can significantly improve the accuracy of this technique.