Scintigraphy of gastrointestinal hemorrhage: superiority of 99mTc red blood cells over 99mTc sulfur colloid.

The relative efficacy of 99mTc sulfur colloid and in vitro-labeled 99mTc red blood cells in detecting and localizing gastrointestinal hemorrhage was evaluated in a prospective tandem study of 100 patients referred for suspicion of gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage. Thirty-eight true-positive scintigrams were obtained with 99mTc red blood cells, whereas 99mTc sulfur colloid detected only five sites of hemorrhage. Scintigraphic findings were corroborated by clinical, endoscopic, arteriographic, and surgical findings. 99mTc red blood cells were clearly superior, with a sensitivity of 93%, specificity of 95%, and overall accuracy of 94% in detecting and localizing gastrointestinal hemorrhage.