Computed tomography of the liver: evaluating focal defects on radionuclide liver-spleen scans

A retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate the role of computed tomography (CT) in increasing the specificity of the abnormal radiocolloid liver-spleen scan. During a 12-month period, 124 patients with focal abnormalities on hepatic scintiscans were identified out of 523 consecutive radionuclide studies. Of these 124 patients, 38 had subsequent CT examination(s) of the liver. Of this group, 11 patients with suspected metastatic disease with focal defects on hepatic scintiscans had normal hepatic CT scans and subsequent negative follow-up for hepatic disease. False-positive radionuclide scan abnormalities, related either to anatomic variation in liver configuration or adjacent extrahepatic structures influencing the radiocolloid scan, are readily recognized and explained on the basis of CT examination.