What are the side effects of a nuclear bone scan?

A bone scan doesn’t cause any side effects or complications. Most of the radioactive tracer is eliminated from your body within 24 hours. Small amounts may remain for as long as three days. While the test can help identify problems in bone metabolism, it doesn’t necessarily reveal the reason for them.

Is nuclear bone scan safe?

What are the risks of a bone scan? The amount of the radionuclide injected into your vein for the procedure is small enough that there is no need for precautions against radioactive exposure. The injection of the tracer may cause some slight discomfort. Allergic reactions to the tracer are rare, but may occur.

Can bone scans cause cancer?

Patients want to know if radiation from mammograms, bone density tests, computed tomography (CT) scans, and so forth will increase their risk of developing cancer. For most women, there’s very little risk from routine x-ray imaging such as mammography or dental x-rays.

How long does a bone scan last?

A whole body bone scan takes around 3-4 hours, which includes two separate visits. In the first visit you will be given an injection of a radioactive isotope into a vein in your arm.

Do you have to take your clothes off for a bone scan?

No special preparations are needed. You may be able to remain fully clothed, depending on the area of your body being scanned. But you’ll need to remove any clothes that have metal fasteners, such as zips, hooks or buckles. In some cases, you may need to wear a gown.

Can a bone scan tell the difference between cancer and arthritis?

Many changes that show up on a bone scan are not cancer. With arthritis, the radioactive material tends to show up on the bone surfaces of joints, not inside the bone. But it can be hard to tell the difference between arthritis and cancer — especially in the spine.

What do they inject you with for a bone scan?

A bone scan is a nuclear medicine test. This means that the procedure uses a very small amount of a radioactive substance, called a tracer. The tracer is injected into a vein. The tracer is absorbed in different amounts and those areas are highlighted on the scan.

Does bone cancer feel like arthritis?

Any bone can be affected, although bone cancer most often develops in the long bones of the legs or upper arms. The pain can sometimes be wrongly mistaken for arthritis in adults and growing pains in children and teenagers.