Background: Despite the benefits of radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy as an adjunctive treatment for thyroid cancer, it can be associated with several side effects. The main purpose of this study was to determine the changes in serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), calcium (Ca), and parathyroid hormone (PTH) at different doses of RAI therapy among patients who were referred to the nuclear medicine department of Namazi Hospital, Shiraz. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 patients with papillary thyroid cancer who underwent RAI therapy at different doses of 100, 150, and 200 mCi. The ALP, Ca, and PTH levels of patients were measured before and 60 days after RAI therapy. Results: Our study revealed that RAI therapy at all doses significantly increased ALP level in comparison with baseline amounts (P≤0.05). However, changes in PTH and Ca levels were not significant among patients who received different doses of RAI (P˃0.05). Conclusion: RAI therapy could affect important hormones and enzymes such as ALP and PTH. This issue can be considered in diagnostic and therapeutic prescriptions of RAI for the treatment of thyroid cancer.

Background: Radioiodine therapy is used for the treatment of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) who undergo total thyroidectomy. After radioiodine administration, regulations require to quarantine these patients until their retained activity reduces to <33 mCi. Some of the injected radioiodine is excreted by perspiration which helps dose reduction so that performing the activities which stimulate sweating such as exercise may shorten the time of dose reduction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in the literature that has evaluated the impact of specific exercise program on the ambient equivalent dose of ¹³¹I gamma rays. Materials and Methods: Patients with DTC without metastasis who had undergone total thyroidectomy and were treated with radioiodine were included in this study. 30 patients were chosen among patients who were able to exercise, did not have renal failure, and did not use diuretics. Patients were divided into two control and intervention groups. Intervention group members walked on treadmills under a specific program, in 3 time intervals. The control group did not have any specific activity. Immediately after each exercise process, both groups took a shower, and their doses were measured by a survey dosimeter. Results: It was revealed that there was a significant difference between mean values before and after each exercise time. The calculated P value which evaluates the overall impact was 0.939 which revealed that there was no significant difference between total ambient equivalent dose reductions of both groups. Conclusion: According to the study, it may conclude that sweating is an effective alternative way for radioiodine excretion, and if sweating is accompanied with well-hydrated status they may have synergism effect to shorten quarantine period. This could be an important consideration in patients which over-hydration is intolerable especially those with cardiac, liver, or renal problems.

Whole body bone scan with Technetium-99m MDP (methylene diphosphate) can detect bony lesions due to altered osteoblastic activity.

We presented a pediatric case with a history of intermittent melena for 3 years because of angiodyplasia of small intestine. The results of frequent upper gastrointestinal endoscopies and colonoscopies as well as both Tc-red blood cell (RBC) and Meckel's scintigraphies for several times were negative in detection of bleeding site. However, Tc-RBC scintigraphy with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) after heparin augmentation detected a site of bleeding in the distal ileum which later was confirmed during surgery with final diagnosis of angiodysplasia.It could be stated that heparin provocation of bleeding before Tc-RBC scintigraphy accompanied by fused SPECT/CT images should be kept in mind for management of intestinal bleeding especially in difficult cases.

Background: Protecting patients and healthcare workers from harmful ionizing radiation, has been an important concern. Due to high efficacy, for many years, lead has been used as the best choice for this purpose. Lead has been always considered as a traditional choice to protect both workers and patients from any unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation. Recently there has been a great deal of concern expressed about the toxicity of lead. The aim of this study was to design a novel shield for nuclear medicine with different alloy as a desired replacement for traditional lead base protectors. Methods: A combination of Cadmium, Bismuth, Lead (only 15%) and Copper were selected by studying metals and calculation of metals’ HVL by Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP4C) modeling. Results: The results of the tests were evaluated and determined that the designed shield, considerably reduces the received dose by a thousand times and this alloy with 2 mm thickness is equivalent to that of a 20 mm traditional lead shield. Conclusion: This novel shield that is produced with lesser lead in this study is considerably safer and offers effective protection in diagnostic energy ranges and may replace the traditional lead-based protectors.