Preparation:

• Please be well hydrated. Drink at least 1L of water prior to your appointment.

• Please notify the department if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

• Fast for 6 hours (4 hours for diabetics) prior to your appointment. Black sugarless tea, coffee and water are

ok to consume.

• Avoid any vigorous exercise for 24hrs prior to your appointment.

What to bring:

• your referral

• any relevant recent imaging (MRI, CT or Previous PET scans)

• a book or paper to read

• iPad, Phone or other electronic devices to keep you occupied

What to wear:

Wear loose comfortable clothing (I.e. tracksuit), free from metal zips or buttons. A gown will be available for you to change into if required. Avoid wearing jewellery.

Medications:

Take all medications as normal.

A nuclear medicine technologist will escort you to a room where your blood glucose level will be checked and an intravenous cannula (a small plastic tube) will be placed into your arm.

Through this cannula they will administer the mildly radioactive substance (18F-FDG).

This substance will not make you feel any different and you should not experience any side effects. The forty-five to sixty minutes following the injection of 18F-FDG is known as the “uptake” phase. During this “uptake” phase you will be asked to rest in a dark room, minimising movement.

Following this period you will be required to empty your bladder. You will then be escorted by a nuclear medicine technologist to the scanning room and positioned on the scanning bed. A PET scan will then be performed. This scan generally takes approximately 20-30 minutes. Once the PET scan is performed, a diagnostic CT will be performed.

This scan may require an iodine CT contrast dye to be administered via the cannula in your arm. The CT scan takes an additional 5 minutes.

Once you are finished you are required to wait 15 minutes for your images to be checked. Your cannula will be removed and you will be free to leave the department.

Following your 18F-FDG PET/CT scan you can return to all normal daily activities. You are advised to minimise contact with pregnant women and children (<12y.o.) for 4 hours after your appointment. You are able to drive following this examination unless you have had sedation, in which case you will require someone to drive you home. 

A FDG PET/CT will take from 2-4 hours. Upon arrival you will be asked to fill in some paperwork.

A PET/CT scan is a safe and routine procedure. The radioactive tracer required for this scan has been used across the world for many years and has no side effects. The amount of radioactivity administered is small and will be flushed out of your system by the end of the day. There will always be an out of pocket cost for this scan.

Your doctor will receive a written report on your test as soon as is practicable.

It is very important that you discuss the results with the doctor who referred you so they can explain what the results mean for you.