How Should You Prepare for PET CT Scan?

Patients should be fasting (6-12 hours) before the scan.

• An appointment will be given before the day of the scan.
• If a patient is diabetic and is on medication like METFORMIN, please notify the doctor as Metformin should be stopped two days before the scan.
• If a patient is diabetic and using insulin, then should withhold insulin on the day of the scan and fasting blood glucose should be less than 150mg/dl.
• A kidney function test should be done(within 1 week of scan is acceptable).
• Patients should be cooperative. If not, inform the doctor, especially if he/she needs to be sedated.
• If a patient has undergone chemotherapy or radiotherapy, notify the doctor.
•  Scanning is not recommended for pregnant women unless there is no other test available.
• Malla Reddy Narayana Cancer Hospital provides comprehensive and affordable PET CT scans in Hyderabad.

Know More About PET CT Scan

During the procedure:

The PET-CT scan machine is similar to a CT-Scan machine.

• The procedure takes around 3-4 hours to complete. Hospitalization or admission is not required, and the procedure can be performed in an out-patient facility in the Nuclear Medicine Department.
• During the procedure, a tracer, a radioactive drug, is given to the patient. It can either be inhaled, swallowed or injected, depending upon the tissue or organ that’ll be examined.
• The patient is then asked to wait for about 60 minutes(based on tracer)for the tracer to get absorbed in the body.
• Further, the patient is asked to lie down on a thin padded examination table, which slides into the scanner.
• The patient is asked to stay still during the scan, as the images can get blurred if the patient moves during the scan. This step takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
• The PET scan is a painless procedure. However, the patient might feel a little anxiety while in the scanner especially if the patient is claustrophobic. However, if the discomfort level increases, the patient must inform the technician or nurse. In such cases, a drug can be given to calm the patient.
• The images captured during the scan are sent to the lab for further interpretation. Our expert team provided the most accurate and best cancer diagnosis and treatment in Hyderabad.

After the procedure:

After the procedure, the patient is asked to change into normal clothes and is advised to drink plenty of water/fluids to flush out the tracer from the body. Once the PET-CT scan is performed, the patient can go home and resume their everyday activities. The patient can drink and eat normally after the PET –CT scan procedure is complete. 

The nuclear physician interprets the images from the scan and prepares the report, which will further be handed over to the concerned doctor. The doctor examines the report carefully and discusses the results with the patient in detail. If the report is normal, it means the patient is fit and healthy with no abnormality detected. If the report is not normal, it means that there are some abnormalities, which would need the attention of the doctor. The bright spots indicate cancer cells with high metabolic activity. At Malla Reddy Narayana Cancer Hospital, our expert team ensures it is the best and most accurate PET-CT scan.