HIDA scan?

Question

i am 14 years old and i have to have a hida scan....whatever that is. i have been having so many stomach problems. what exactly is this? what will it determine? and mostly does it hurt?? i am so nervous please help! what is going to happen????

ya like i said im only 14 so i would really appreciate it if answers were written in terms i could actually understand.

Answer 1

Lets address your questions in turn.

Q: What exactly is [a HIDA]?
A: It's a complicated way of looking at how your liver works.

Q: What will it determine?
A: It will help tell your physicians if the stomach problems you're experiencing are coming from your liver or if they need to look elsewhere for the source of your problems. What everyone is HOPING to see is a big chunk of something getting in the way of things. Then, viola! Get that chunk out, and all the problems are solved. Hopefully, but unlikely.

Q: Does it hurt?
A: Yes. But less than a stubbed toe on a cold morning. Have you had blood drawn? A shot? Pretty similar. After the shot, it's a lot of pictures, zero pain. Well, pain-in-the-butt, 'cause it takes a while (an hour or two), not real pain.

Q: What is going to happen?
A: You'll go to a big cold room with a lot of gear, it'll be awkward and uncomfortable. There'll be nurses, technicians, physicians. With a little luck, a friend or a parent. You'll freak out when they're getting ready for the shot, but in 15 seconds, it'll be over, and in 15 minutes you'll be bored. Unless they let you see the pictures, which will be very, very cool. Make sure you ask to see the pictures.

Good luck, I'm sorry for your stomach problems.

p.s. And by the way, M.C.M.D up there forgot to cite his source, you can find the whole of the text above at the following link:

http://health.ivillage.com/digestion/diexams/0,,67lg,00.html

Poser.

Answer 2

You can most certainly have an ultrasound come back normal, but have a diseased gallbladder, that is why your doctor still needs to order a hida scan. A HIDA scan can help determine if you have a form of gallbladder disease or if your gallbladder is functioning properly. A HIDA scan requires an average of about 2 hours to complete. To prepare for the test, the patient must not eat or drink anything after midnight before the test. A radiotracer will be injected and pictures will be taken right after the injection. The injection is likely to be done via an IV. The pictures will be taken over a period of one to two hours. Since pictures are being taken, you would have to lie still for the duration of the test.

Answer 3

A HIDA scan is an imaging test used to examine the gallbladder and the ducts leading into and out of the gallbladder. In this test, also referred to as cholescintigraphy, the patient receives an intravenous injection of a radioactive material called hydroxy iminodiacetic acid (HIDA). The HIDA material is taken up by the liver and excreted into the biliary tract. In a healthy person, HIDA will pass through the bile ducts and into the cystic duct to enter the gallbladder. It will also pass into the common bile duct and enter the small intestine, from which it eventually makes its way out of the body in the stool.
HIDA imaging is done by a nuclear scanner, which takes pictures of the patient's biliary tract over the course of about two hours. The images are then examined by a radiologist, who interprets the results. It is generally a very safe test and is well tolerated by most patients.

Usually, HIDA scans are ordered for patients who are suspected of having an obstruction in the biliary tract, most commonly those who are thought to have a stone blocking the cystic duct leading out of the gallbladder. Such a scenario is consistent with acute cholecystitis, which often requires surgical removal of the gallbladder. In cholecystitis, HIDA will appear in the bile ducts, but it will not enter the cystic duct or the gallbladder -- a finding that indicates obstruction. If the HIDA enters the bile ducts but does not enter the small intestine, then an obstruction of the bile duct (usually due to stones or cancer) is suspected.