Economic issue in pediatric nuclear medicine: cortical scanning of acute pyelonephritis

Pediatric nuclear medicine, in order to survive, must be innovative in finding ways of competing with other pediatric imaging subspecialties for the health care dollars. Newer radiopharmaceuticals and imaging methods that are time-effective in answering clinical problems and cost-effective in attracting the health care providers are ways of accomplishing this difficult task. Renal cortical scanning for the diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis is presented as an example of an existing nuclear medicine study that is accurate and cost-effective, but has not yet taken a major place in the imaging armamentarium. In this discussion, the cortical scan is endorsed as the primary imaging tool for children presenting with acute urinary infection.