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Toggle: English / SpanishBrain PET scan - Risks
Alternative Names
Brain positron emission tomography; PET scan - brain
What the risks are:
The amount of radiation used in a PET scan is low. It is about the same amount of radiation as in most CT scans. Also, the radiation doesn't last for very long in your body.
Women who are pregnant or are breastfeeding should let their doctor know before having this test. Infants and babies developing in the womb are more sensitive to the effects of radiation because their organs are still growing.
It is possible, although very unlikely, to have an allergic reaction to the radioactive substance. Some people have pain, redness, or swelling at the injection site.
Special considerations:
It is possible to have false results on a PET scan. Blood sugar or insulin levels may affect the test results in people with diabetes.
Most PET scans are now performed along with a CT scan. This combination scan is called a PET/CT.
- Reviewed last on: 2/5/2011
- David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
References
Small GW, Bookheimer SY, Thompson PM, Cole GM, Hung SC, Kepe V, et al. Current and future uses of neuroimaging for cognitively impaired patients. Lancet Neurol. 2008;7:161-172.
Stoessl AJ, Alshehri AM. Neuroimaging: Functional neuroimaging. In: Bradley WG, Daroff RB, Fenichel GM, Jankovic J, eds. Bradley: Neurology in Clinical Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Butterworth-Heinemann Elsevier; 2008:chap 36E.
Wahl RL. Imaging. In: Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKenna WG. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier;2008:chap 21.
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