Uterine visualization on Tc-99m DTPA HSA scintigraphy to detect gastrointestinal protein loss

To detect the focus of intestinal protein loss, abdominal Tc-99m DTPA HSA scintigraphy was performed in a 41-year-old woman with diffuse eosinophilic enteritis and hypoalbuminemia. It was the first day of the menstrual phase of her menstrual cycle at the time of examination. The sequential images showed persistent, increasing radioactivity of the tracer above the urinary bladder during the examination. CTs and MRIs showed that the sites of uptake corresponded to the ovariouterine venous plexus and uterus. Three weeks later, a right ovariectomy was performed for a benign ovarian cyst, but no abnormality was found in the uterus. Uterine accumulation of the tracer during the menstrual or secretory phases of the menstrual cycle may cause a false-positive interpretation of Tc-99m DTPA HSA scintigraphy.