Abstract
The nuclear medicine methods are more functionally oriented than other imaging procedures. An adequate co-operation of the child is an important prerequisite for a successful radionuclide examination.
Nevertheless, sometimes the administration of sedatives is inevitable. The spectrum of nuclear medicine methods used in paediatrics reflects the incidence of diseases during childhood.
Bone scintigraphy, scintigraphy of inflammations and tumours, as well as examinations of the uropoetic and gastrointestinal tracts are the most frequently practised radionuclide procedures in young patients. Positron emission tomography is regularly performed in children with oncologic diseases (mainly with lymphomas) in the Czech Republic during last years.
Radiation burden due to nuclear medicine methods used in young patients (with the expection of PET) is similar to the one by X-ray examinations with the exception of CT, which induces higher effective dose.