What are the dangers of thallium-201?
Important Safety Information Hypotension, pruritus, flushing and diffuse rash which responds to antihistamines have been reported. Other reported events include itching, nausea/vomiting, mild diarrhea, tremor, shortness of breath, chills, fever, conjunctivitis, sweating and blurred vision.
What type of radiation does thallium-201 emit?
Tl-201 emits emitting mainly X-rays of energy 67–82 keV (88% abundance) and gamma photons of 135 and 167 keV (12% abundance). X or gamma rays could not be visible.
How is thallium-201?
Thallium-201 (Th-201) is a radiopharmaceutical used for scintigraphy, primarily of the myocardium. The element thallium is treated by the body as an analog of potassium; it is produced in a cyclotron by bombarding thallium-203 with protons.
What does thallium chloride do?
Thallous chloride Tl 201 injection is used in adults to help diagnose heart disease (eg, coronary artery disease, heart attack). It is used in certain procedures called planar scintigraphy or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).
Can you get a rash after a nuclear stress test?
Call your doctor if: Your skin is itchy, swollen, or you have a rash. You have pain, redness, or swelling in the area where the medicine was injected.
Is Thallium-201 naturally occurring?
Thallium is a chemical element with the symbol Tl and atomic number 81. It is a gray post-transition metal that is not found free in nature.
What is the half-life of thallium-201?
Thallium Tl 201 decays by electron capture to Mercury Hg 201 with a physical half-life of 73.1 hours. Photons that are useful for detection and imaging are listed in Table 1.
What are the benefits of using thallium 201?
The use of Tl-201 eliminates bowel and liver obstruction of the heart on the images as the method of uptake is via the sodium potassium pump used in the muscle movement of the left ventricle and does not clear through the hepatobilliary system.
Where is Thallium 201 found?
Sources of thallium Thallium is found as a mineral in the elements crooksite, lorandite and hutchinsonite. It’s also found as a trace element in iron pyrite and obtained from this ore by roasting the mineral. Small amounts of thallium are found in manganese nodules on the ocean floor.
What is the half-life of thallium 201?
What does thallium decay into?
Thallium-201 is a cyclotron-produced radionuclide that decays by electron capture, with a half-life of about 73 hours. On decay, the major emissions are characteristic x-rays of the daughter product, mercury-201 (201Hg), with an energy range of 69 to 81 keV.
What happens if you take thallium?
Studies in people who ingested large amounts of thallium over a short time have reported vomiting, diarrhea, temporary hair loss, and effects on the nervous system, lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys. It has caused death.
What does thallium do to the human body?
Thallium can affect your nervous system, lung, heart, liver, and kidney if large amounts are eaten or drunk for short periods of time. Temporary hair loss, vomiting, and diarrhea can also occur and death may result after exposure to large amounts of thallium for short periods.
How does the body get rid of thallium?
ANTIDOTE: The FDA has approved Prussian blue (Radiogardase™) as an antidote for thallium toxicity. It is thought that Prussian blue binds to thallium within the intestinal tract even more effectively than does activated charcoal.
How is Thallium-201 excreted?
The usual dose of thallium-201 used for SPECT scans is small; thus, it is safe for use. [2] However, some considerations are necessary for certain populations. The recommendation is that lactating mothers should discontinue breastfeeding after a thallium-201 scan because it is excreted in breast milk.
What is the energy of thallium-201?
What are the side effects of thallium?
Other reported events include itching, nausea/vomiting, mild diarrhea, tremor, shortness of breath, chills, fever, conjunctivitis, sweating, and blurred vision. Adverse events, some of which were serious, have also been reported in patients who have undergone thallium pharmacologic testing (see WARNINGS).
What is thallium 201 TL?
Thallium-201 ( 201 Tl) is the conventional perfusion tracer [4]. 201 Tl behaves like a potassium analog and enters the myocytes through Na + /K + ATPase channels. 201 Tl is injected intravenously at peak exercise or during pharmacological stress and imaging is started soon after completion of stress.
What are the disadvantages of thallium as a radioactive imaging agent?
The major disadvantage of thallium as a radioactive imaging agent is the absence of an ideal photopeak for imaging. The gamma emissions (135 and 167 keV) occur in low abundance (see Table 1-2 ).
Does thallium cause birth defects?
Birth defects were not reported in the children of mothers exposed to low levels from eating vegetables and fruits contaminated with thallium. Studies in rats, however, exposed to high levels of thallium, showed adverse developmental effects.