Imaging Procedures - Patient Information
 


Liver and Gallbladder - Ejection Fraction

Why would my physician order this procedure

To help your physician in the diagnosis of acute or chronic cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder).

Exam preparation
 

This is a functional test, therefore your cooperation in the preparation is very important.
  You can have NOTHING by mouth for 4 hours prior to your appointment time.  If you have had nothing except water for greater than 24 hours, please notify our appointment desk at 503.561.5293.
  You must not take any of the following narcotics for at least 4 hours prior to your appointment time: Morphine, codeine, darvon, darvocet, demerol, dilaudid, herion, longtabs, methadone, percocet or percodan.
  To perform this exam, we must give you a small amount of radioactive materials.  Tell your doctor if you might be pregnant, if you are pregnant, or if you are a nursing mother.

What to expect

A technologist will explain the entire process to you prior to starting the exam.  He/she will also ask you some health history questions, which will help our radiologist interpret your exam.

A technologist will place an intravenous (IV) line in your arm.  You will be asked to lie flat on our imaging bed while our camera will be positioned over your abdomen area. 

You will be given an injection of a radiopharmaceutical that is filtered out by your liver and travels through your gallbladder and out your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. 

Depending upon how your gallbladder fills, we will either have you return for additional delayed images or we proceed with quantifying how your gallbladder contracts.

If you have any technical questions specific to this procedure, please don’t hesitate to ask the technologist at dosing time.  All clinical questions should be directed to your physician.

A report will be sent to your ordering physician.

How long will it take

Depending upon how your gallbladder functions, you could be with us anywhere from 60 – 90 minutes. 

In certain cases you might need to return at about 3 hours after your injection for additional images (usually 15 minutes of camera time).

Possible complications or side effects

No complications are expected from this procedure.

Radiation risk statement

Studies of the health effects of radiation have shown that high doses of radiation can cause cancer.  However, this hospital procedure requires that we inject you with a very low level of radioactive material. 

The risk from lower doses of radiation, such as you will receive during this exam, is uncertain.  Most scientists believe that the risk is very small.  Certainly, the benefits received from the exam far outweigh the small risk associated with this procedure