Citation

Shih WJ, Hyatt M. Clin. Nucl. Med. 1993; 18(6): 506-509.

Affiliation

Nuclear Medicine Service, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40511.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8319406

Abstract

An alcohol- and diazepam-abusing patient underwent brain CT and SPECT imaging studies. The CT scan showed mild brain atrophy, whereas SPECT imaging using Tc-99m HMPAO showed a large lesion in the left cerebral hemisphere. The extent of lesion involvement was appreciated by three-dimensional displays. This finding was associated with a clinical presentation of hypnosedative withdrawal delirium (disorientation, impaired memory, rambling speech with loose associations, paranoia, ideation, restlessness, poor judgment). Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT may provide objective documentation of regional cerebral neurochemical alteration associated with hypnosedative abuse or hypnosedative withdrawal states, whereas surface and volume three-dimensional displays simplify and enhance brain SPECT image interpretation.

Language: en