Trends of radiopharmaceutical use at Mayo Clinic Rochester

The field of radiology is continuously changing. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of technologic advances on nuclear medicine during the past 15 y.

The number of radiopharmaceutical doses dispensed at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota) from 1990 through 2004 was tracked. The number of doses was equivalent to the number of scans performed.

Since 1990, the number of bone scans decreased by 38%. Brain scans using (99m)Tc have increased by 166%. The number of cardiac doses dispensed increased 184% from 1990 through 1999 but decreased 3% between 2000 and 2004. The number of lung scans decreased 52% from 1992 through 1999 and increased 66% from 1999 through 2004. The number of kidney scans decreased 67% since 1990. Since its introduction in 1993, the use of (111)In-pentetreotide has increased 16-fold. PET data showed a 602% increase in the number of procedures from 2001 through 2004.

The number of bone, lung, and kidney scans has decreased because of advances in other imaging modalities. Although the number of cardiac imaging scans increased during most of the study period, the recent rate of growth has declined, possibly because of the availability of alternative procedures such as stress echocardiography. The number of brain and lung scans performed has increased, partially because of the development of new protocols. PET and tumor imaging have shown a substantial increase because of increasing numbers of approved indications and Medicare reimbursement.