Pelvic radionuclide angiography in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding

A pelvic radionuclide angiogram (PRAG) was obtained in addition to Tc-99m-labeled red blood cell scans in 18 studies (16 patients) of gastrointestinal bleeding. A bleeding focus adjacent to the bladder was found in the four studies in which the bladder region was seen on the PRAG; no perivesicular bleeding site was found in the 14 studies with a normal PRAG. It is concluded that the PRAG can be useful in locating pelvic bleeding sites, which can be missed on delayed images because of the superimposed bladder, and may be a useful addition to Tc-99m RBC studies for gastrointestinal bleeding.