Diffuse Gallium-67 Accumulation in the Left Atrial Wall Detected Using SPECT/CT Fusion Images

Abstract

Gallium-67 scintigraphy is useful for detecting active inflammation. We show a 66-year-old female patient with atrial fibrillation and diffuse thickening of the left atrial wall due to acute myocarditis, who presented diffuse abnormal accumulation of gallium-67 in the left atrium on single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) fusion images. In the second gallium-67 scan 2 months after the first scintigraphy, the abnormal accumulation in the heart was no longer visible. Gallium-67 SPECT/CT images helped understanding the disease condition that temporary inflammation in the left atrium caused atrial fibrillation.