Technetium-99m pertechnetate scan for ectopic gastric mucosa in children with gastrointestinal bleeding

Objective: To assess the utility of technetium 99mTc-pertechnetate scintigraphy in diagnosing of the pediatric patient with gastrointestinal bleeding and suspected of having Meckel’s diverticulum. Methods: 99mTc-pertechnetate abdominal scintigraphy was undertaken in 39 children with history of gastrointestinal bleeding. The final diagnosis of all cases was proved by surgery and pathology or gastroscope or the follow-up visit. Results: In detecting Meckel’s diverticulum, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 99mTc-pertechnetate abdominal scintigraphy was 90.5%, 94.4%, 92.3%, 95.0% and 89.5% respectively. Conclusion: Radionuclide scintigraphy may be the first procedure to explore Meckel’s diverticulum.