Increased gastric activity on myocardial perfusion imaging

We anecdotally observed an increased accumulation of 99mTctetrofosmin in the stomach of myocardial perfusion patients when their uptake phase coincided with preparation of hamburgers in an adjacent room for gastric emptying studies on other patients. The potential for a scent-stimulated alteration of gastric biodistribution required further investigation. Methods: An experimental group and a control group were enrolled (20 patients per group). The experimental group could smell food being prepared during the uptake phase. Stomach, heart, and background regions were drawn in multiple projections, and the resulting data were evaluated. Results: The experimental and control groups did not significantly differ in stomach counts per pixel, background-corrected counts per pixel, or heart-to-stomach ratio. Further analysis of the data revealed that women had a significantly higher increase in stomach counts (P 5 0.022) and background-corrected stomach counts (P 5 0.018) than men. Conclusion: Women had a greater increase in gastric 99mTctetrofosmin activity than men during the radiopharmaceutical uptake phase, but there was no causal relationship between an increase in activity and olfactory stimulation from the cooking of food.