Diffuse Pulmonary Uptake of Tc-99m Methylene Diphosphonate in a Patient with Non-tuberculosis Mycobacterial Infection

Hyun-Woo Kwon; June-Key Chung; Aini Ab-Aziz; Dong Soo Lee

doi:10.1007/s13139-010-0020-5

Diffuse Pulmonary Uptake of Tc-99m Methylene Diphosphonate in a Patient with Non-tuberculosis Mycobacterial Infection

Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2010 Jun;44(2):146-9. doi: 10.1007/s13139-010-0020-5. Epub 2010 Apr 21.

Authors

Hyun-Woo Kwon¹, June-Key Chung¹, Aini Ab-Aziz², Dong Soo Lee¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 28 Yeongeon-dong Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea ; Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
² Department of Radiology, University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

Extra-osseous uptake of bone-seeking radiopharmaceuticals has been reported at various sites and it is known to be induced by various causes. Diffuse pulmonary infection, such as tuberculosis, can be a cause of lung uptake of bone-scan agent. Here we report on a patient with non-tuberculosis mycobacterial infection (NTM) who demonstrated diffuse pulmonary uptake on Tc-99m MDP bone scan. After medical treatment for NTM, the patient's lung lesions improved. Extraskeletal lung Tc-99m MDP uptake on bone scan may suggest lung parenchymal damage associated with disease activity.

Keywords: Diffuse pulmonary uptake; Non-tuberculous mycobacterium; Tc-99m MDP.