Can reduced imaging times be used for scintimammography?

A reduction in acquisition times from 10 to 5 min for scintimammography doe s not reduce the diagnostic value of the study when imaging for detection o f breast lesions. The test. showed an overall sensitivity of 96%, specifici ty of 100% and accuracy of 98% for breast lesions visualized on both 5 and 10 min acquisitions. Even if lymph node detection is the primary concern of the study, longer scan times do not increase the sensitivity of the test ( 40% on both 5 and 10 min). Scintimammography is poor at detecting lymph nod es (sensitivity 40%, specificity 69-82%) and is not useful for assessing ly mph node involvement. A reduction in imaging times appeared to be consisten t on both camera systems tested, which have very different display outputs. This would indicate that other departments may be able to reduce times on their systems without affecting the quality of the study. The detection of breast lesions was also consistent between reporters. ((C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins).