You shouldn't experience any side effects after having a PET scan and can usually go home the same day. The results of your scan won't usually be available on the same day.
Temporary side effects – The iodine-based contrast dye used in a PET CT scan can cause temporary side effects. Some PET scan side effects are diarrhea, nausea, etc., which eventually fade within a day.
With a PET or a PET/CT scan, you will give off very low levels of radiation for around 6 hours afterwards. As a precaution, you should avoid being close to women who are pregnant during this time. It should also be safe to be around adult pets, as long as they are not pregnant.
Patient should take good care of hydration for kidney and bone scans and should have plenty of fluids. For cardiac/heart scans specific instructions has to be followed - patient should come empty stomach. Few medications (b blockers and nitrates) need to be stopped for scans.
What happens after a PET scan? Be sure to move slowly when getting up from the scanner table to avoid any dizziness or lightheadedness. You will be instructed to drink plenty of fluids and empty your bladder often for 24 to 48 hours after the test.
Drinking plenty of fluid after the scan can help flush it from your body. As a precaution, you may be advised to avoid prolonged close contact with pregnant women, babies or young children for a few hours after a PET scan, as you will be slightly radioactive during this time.
After the Procedure
You should drink about 5 glasses of water. Nursing mothers should wait for 24 hours before resuming breast-feeding.
PET scanning can give false results if chemical balances within the body are not normal. Specifically, test results of diabetic patients or patients who have eaten within a few hours prior to the examination can be adversely affected because of altered blood sugar or blood insulin levels.
For an FDG PET-CT, you will be asked to not eat anything for several hours before the PET scan, because this may alter your sugar metabolism and may affect the quality of the images or pictures. Drinking water is both acceptable and advised so that you are not dehydrated.
If you're pregnant, don't cuddle with your child for at least 24 hours after the scan. Also, your child should avoid direct contact with infants and toddlers until the next day.
18F-Fluorodeoxy glucose positron emission tomography‒computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET) can detect malignant lymph nodes of even normal size, thus overcoming one of the major limitations of CT.
No, a PET scan cannot provide a conclusive diagnosis regarding whether a tumour is benign or malignant.
After the test: Drink lots of fluids for the next 24 hours to help flush the tracer out of your body. Most of the tracer will be flushed from your body within 6 to 24 hours. Allergic reactions to the tracer are very rare.
The radioactive tracer gives off very small levels of radiation that go away very quickly. As a precaution, you should avoid close contact with pregnant women, babies and young children for 6 hours after the scan. You need someone to take you home and stay overnight if you've had medicine to help you relax (sedative).
In general, PET scans are safe and rarely cause problems. The amount of radiation in the radioactive tracer is very low. It doesn't stay in your body for long. You should drink lots of water after a PET scan to help flush the radioactive drug from your body.
Drinking plenty of fluid after the scan can help flush it from your body. As a precaution, you may be advised to avoid close contact with pregnant women, babies and young children for a few hours after having a PET scan. This is because you'll be slightly radioactive during this time.
We prefer that you avoid anything with caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate, or soda) within 24 hours of the test. Caffeine alters the distribution of the radiopharmaceutical throughout your body, specifically to your heart.
The Day Before Your PET/CT Scan
Please avoid all forms of strenuous exercise and/or physical activity for 24 hours prior to your appointment. Avoid all caffeine and de-caffeinated beverages for 24 hours prior to exam. It is important that you stay well hydrated.
Not all cancers show up on a PET scan. PET scan results are often used with other imaging and lab test results. Other tests are often needed to find out whether an area that collected a lot of radioactive material is non-cancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant).
In general, PET scans may be used to evaluate organs and/or tissues for the presence of disease or other conditions. PET may also be used to evaluate the function of organs, such as the heart or brain. The most common use of PET is in the detection of cancer and the evaluation of cancer treatment.
Tissue that has a high rate of metabolism and a high consumption of sugar appears as especially dark spots on black-and-white PET images, and on color images as especially bright spots.
Can I brush my teeth before a PET/CT scan? Normal brushing without swallowing mouthwash or toothpaste within the four hour preparation timeframe will have no effect on the outcome of your PET/CT scan.
PET scan results will be provided to your referring doctor within 1 or 2 working days. You will need to make an appointment with your referring doctor to discuss the results of your scan.
There are no side effects. Drink fluids to ensure urinating and clearance of the radioactive FDG . You can drive and resume normal activities immediately after the scan.