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Clinical Information
Information for Referring Physicians
Body FDG-PET imaging is indicated for evaluation of a variety of proven or suspected malignant neoplasms for addressing the following clinical problems:
For those not familiar with PET, the Society of Nuclear Medicine page on "What is PET? and their included links are useful. The Academy of Molecular Imaging has additional information on PET imaging. In all cases, PET is indicated only if the study is likely to change clinical management.
Post-therapy studies to assess for residual tumor should be delayed for approximately 2 months following completion of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, if possible.
To schedule an oncologic PET study, call our PET scheduling desk at 362-4PET (362-4738) or 888-362-4PET (888-362-4738) to obtain a study date and time, and then fax a completed Physician PET Request Form (available in our Scheduling forms section) to 314-362-1032. After review of the form, you may be contacted to obtain additional information, if needed.
For patient preparation, see the PET patient information section above. If patient is diabetic, discuss with a nuclear medicine physician for further instructions. Drinking water and taking medications (except for insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents) are acceptable.
Medicare has approved coverage for FDG-PET studies for many indications. For a more information, see the scheduling forms (page two of the outpatient forms deals with medicare coverage). Studies for some non-coveraged indications can be performed under the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR), as indicated on the scheduling forms. Such NOPR exams require a Medicare Registry pre-PET form, located with the other scheduling forms.
To schedule a brain PET study, call our scheduling desk at 362-4PET (362-4738) or 888-362-4PET (888-362-4738). For dementia patients, Medicare has very stringent requirements for PET imaging -- please carefully review and fill out the "Non-tumor Brain PET/CT" scheduling form" (available in our Scheduling forms section) which is designed to include all the requirements of the CMS decision memo .
Note that a minimum fasting interval of 4 hours is recommended before the study (consult nuclear medicine physician if patient is diabetic). Post-therapy studies to assess for residual tumor should be delayed for approximately 4 weeks following completion of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, if possible.
Cardiac PET with C-11 acetate is indicated for the detection of viable myocardium in patients with coronary artery disease.
To schedule a cardiac PET study, call our scheduling desk at 314-362-7418
Patient without known diabetes should remain NPO after midnight prior to the cardiac PET study. Patients on oral diabetic medication should remain NPO after midnight but take their medication. Patients with insulin dependent diabetes should adhere to their normal dietary and insulin schedule.