PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Concetto Regalbuto AU - Massimo Buscema AU - Salvatore Arena AU - Riccardo Vigneri AU - Sebastiano Squatrito AU - Vincenzo Pezzino TI - False-Positive Findings on <sup>131</sup>I Whole-Body Scans Because of Posttraumatic Superficial Scabs DP - 2002 Feb 01 TA - Journal of Nuclear Medicine PG - 207--209 VI - 43 IP - 2 4099 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/43/2/207.short 4100 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/43/2/207.full SO - J Nucl Med2002 Feb 01; 43 AB - Nonspecific 131I uptake may affect both the specificity and the accuracy of whole-body scanning (WBS) performed after 131I administration in the follow-up of thyroid carcinoma after thyroidectomy. We report a newly identified cause of false-positive WBS findings: posttraumatic superficial scabs. Methods: Four patients who underwent thyroidectomy for differentiated thyroid carcinoma were studied after therapeutic administration of 3,700 MBq 131I. Results: WBS revealed an area of uptake in the lower limbs, in a site corresponding to a slight abrasion of the skin that had incidentally occurred between a few hours before and 24 h after radioiodine administration. In 2 patients, a radioiodine concentration in the scab was shown by the disappearance of the radioactivity in the leg after removal of the scab and by detection of radioactivity in the collected material. Conclusion: Posttraumatic superficial scabs may be a cause of false-positive WBS findings. High 131I doses, although providing increased sensitivity, may also increase the number of false-positive results.