Amelia Jimenez-Heffernan1, Santiago Aguade-Bruix2, Irene Casans-Tormo3. 1. Head of Nuclear Medicine Department, Hospital Juan Ramon Jimenez, Ronda Exterior Norte s/n, 21005, Huelva, Spain. ameliam.jimenez.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es. 2. Nuclear Medicine Department Consultant, Hospital Vall d´Hebron, Passeig de la Vall d´Hebron, 119-129, 08035, Barcelona, Spain. 3. Head of Nuclear Medicine Department, Hospital Clinico Universitario, Av. de Blasco Ibañez, 17, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In Spain, nuclear cardiology (NC) procedures represent the second most frequently performed studies in nuclear medicine (NM) centers. METHODS: The NC Working Group of the Spanish Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging invited NM departments across the country to answer an online questionnaire regarding 2014 activity. RESULTS: Data on 40,161 patients from 42 centers were collected. The responding public centers served 39% of Spain´s population. The estimated NC activity for public hospitals was 2 studies/1,000 population/year. Of all the NC procedures, 69% were SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), 17% equilibrium ventriculography, 12% 18F-FDG PET, 1.3% first pass ventriculography, and <1% innervation and amyloidosis imaging, respectively. The most frequent NC study was a 99mTc tracer, exercise, 2-day MPI ECG-gated SPECT ordered by a cardiologist for diagnosis in an outpatient with 21 days of mean waiting time, the stress phase being supervised by both a cardiologist and a NM physician, with a NM physician writing a complete report. CONCLUSIONS: A major challenge for NC in Spain is the gradual adoption of high-sensitivity, low-dose-dedicated cardiac SPECT cameras and the broadening of cardiac PET utilization with more cameras, and the availability of MPI tracers alongside the viability/inflammation setup.
BACKGROUND: In Spain, nuclear cardiology (NC) procedures represent the second most frequently performed studies in nuclear medicine (NM) centers. METHODS: The NC Working Group of the Spanish Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging invited NM departments across the country to answer an online questionnaire regarding 2014 activity. RESULTS: Data on 40,161 patients from 42 centers were collected. The responding public centers served 39% of Spain´s population. The estimated NC activity for public hospitals was 2 studies/1,000 population/year. Of all the NC procedures, 69% were SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), 17% equilibrium ventriculography, 12% 18F-FDG PET, 1.3% first pass ventriculography, and <1% innervation and amyloidosis imaging, respectively. The most frequent NC study was a 99mTc tracer, exercise, 2-day MPI ECG-gated SPECT ordered by a cardiologist for diagnosis in an outpatient with 21 days of mean waiting time, the stress phase being supervised by both a cardiologist and a NM physician, with a NM physician writing a complete report. CONCLUSIONS: A major challenge for NC in Spain is the gradual adoption of high-sensitivity, low-dose-dedicated cardiac SPECT cameras and the broadening of cardiac PET utilization with more cameras, and the availability of MPI tracers alongside the viability/inflammation setup.
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