[Significance of brain scintigraphy for the course of clarification of neurologic-neurosurgical patients].

The results of a retrospective study on 835 patients in which brain scan was performed during their ambulant and clinical examination are presented. In 18.6% of the cases the scan gave correct results which highly determined the further diagnostic procedure. In 37.5% of the cases the radioisotope brain scan revealed positive results which besides other findings contributed to the decision on the further diagnostic procedure. In 30.5% of the cases the results of the scan were correct but of low diagnostic value, since the further procedure was determined by other diagnostic methods. In 7.4% of the cases the brain scan gave false positive results indicating a focal brain lesion. In these cases the cerebral scintigraphy gave rise to redundant and riskful neuroradiological investigations. In 1.8% of the cases in which retrospectively a threatening brain lesion could be established, the brain scan gave false negative results. The results of this investigation indicate that brain scanning although being a harmless diagnostic method, can induce redundant and riskful further examination. The application of isotope brain scan as diagnostic procedure requires a precise indication even more so, since computerized transverse axial tomography, a harmless screening method of high resolution is now available.