Value and reliability of blood pool scintigraphy in liver hemangiomas

: In a prospective study the importance and reliability of blood-pool scanning were checked. 40 patients were investigated. In 36 patients sonographical evidence of one or more hemangiomas was shown. 4 patients with 11 primary or secondary tumors in the liver were taken as control group. All tumors could be verified by histology or CT. Differentiation between hemangiomas and other space-occupying lesions (benign and malignant tumors) was possible with high accuracy. We found a sensitivity of 100% in hemangiomas larger than 4 cm, a sensitivity of 78% in hemangiomas larger than 3 cm and a sensitivity of 69% in hemangiomas larger than 2 cm. Falsely positive results were not observed. In conclusion, blood-pool scanning of the liver is a reliable method in the differential diagnosis of hemangiomas.