Gonçalves J M, Vaz R, Cerejo A, Cruz C, Pereira J, Mourão A, Amaral I
Neurology and Neurosurgery Department, Hospital de S. João, Porto, Portugal.
Acta Neurochir Suppl (Wien). 1992;55:11-3. doi: 10.1007/978-3-7091-9233-7_4.
Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) after intravenous administration of Technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene-amine oxime (Tc-99m HM-PAO) makes possible the evaluation of cerebral perfusion. We have been assessing the diagnostic accuracy of SPECT in some groups of head trauma patients: the preliminary results of this study are presented. Fourteen patients have been selected, all of them showing some kind of focal neurological deficit; the Computed Tomography (CT) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) were normal, or showed lesions that could not be responsible for the neurological deficits. In all of the patients Tc-99m HM-PAO SPECT has been performed, showing changes in cerebral perfusion in areas correlated with the abnormalities elicited on clinical examination. These results show that Tc-99m HM-PAO SPECT is a better technique than CT or NMR in demonstrating the organic basis of some neurological deficits observed after head trauma.
