Radionuclide Pericardial Scan. Is It Outmoded by Echocardiography?

In the November 1971 issue of Pediatrics, the review article on the use of radionuclide examinations in children refers to pericardial scanning to diagnose pericardial effusion and to differentiate pericardial disease from cardiac enlargement. This technique has been supplanted by the simple noninvasive method of echocardiography which is highly accurate and without risk. Therefore, radionuclide need not be used in the differential diagnosis of pericardial disease. The review also omits the significant applications of the use of radionuclides in the differential diagnosis of congenital heart disease.