Journal Information
Vol. 99. Issue 5.
Pages 425-431 (September - October 2023)
Share
Share
Download PDF
More article options
Visits
1794
Vol. 99. Issue 5.
Pages 425-431 (September - October 2023)
Review article
Full text access
Tc-99m scan for pediatric bleeding Meckel diverticulum:a systematic review and meta-analysis
Visits
1794
Ping Yana, Shouliang Jiangb,
Corresponding author
jiangshoul@sina.com

Corresponding author.
a Sichuan University, West China Hospital, Department of Gastroenterology, Sichuan, China
b Sichuan University, Key Laboratory of Obstetric & Gynecologic and Pediatric Diseases and Birth Defects of Ministry of Education, West China Second University Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Chengdu, China
This item has received
Article information
Abstract
Full Text
Bibliography
Download PDF
Statistics
Figures (6)
Show moreShow less
Tables (1)
Table 1. Characteristics of the studies included in the meta-analysis.
Abstract
Objective

Meckel diverticulum (MD) is a common malformation of the digestive tract, often accompanied by serious complications. It is important to find safe and effective diagnostic methods for screening MD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a technetium-99m (Tc-99m) scan for pediatric bleeding MD.

Methods

The authors conducted a systematic review of studies published in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science before 1 January 2023. Studies based on PICOS were included in this systematic review. The flow chart was made by PRISMA software. The quality of included studies was assessed by RevMan5 software (QUADAS-2: Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2). The sensitivity, specificity, and other measurements of accuracy were pooled using Stata/SE 12.0 software.

Results

Sixteen studies with 1115 children were included in this systematic review. A randomized-effects model was used for the meta-analysis because of significant heterogeneity. The combined sensitivity and specificity were 0.80 [Confidence Interval (95% CI, 0.73-0.86) and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.86-0.98)], respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.85-0.90). Publication bias (Begg's test p = 0.053) was observed.

Conclusion

Tc-99m scan has high specificity, but moderate sensitivity, which is always influenced by some factors. Hence, the Tc-99m scan has some limitations in the diagnosis of pediatric bleeding MD.

Keywords:
Meckel diverticulum
Tc-99m scan
Diagnosis
Gastrointestinal tract
Full Text
Introduction

Meckel diverticulum (MD) has an incidence rate of 1-3% in the population. It is an embryonic residue after incomplete closure of the umbilical mesenteric canal 1 Only 25-40% of the cases have clinical symptoms,2 but 80% of the patients under 15 years of age have clinical symptoms.3 About 20% of MD cases have ectopic gastric mucosal (EGM) disease.4,5 EGM is a type of pathological tissue, most often located in MD, and is the most common cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding in children, typically before two years of age.6 So early diagnosis of MD is important.

Although the diagnosis of a symptomatic MD is often difficult, Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) scanning can be performed in ectopic gastric mucosa. Approximately 90% of bleeding MDs contain heterotopic mucosa, which prompted the development of the Tc-99m scan.7,8

Tc-99m is helpful in the diagnosis of ectopic gastric mucosa because it compares other sites with relatively low radiographic findings.9-13 Moreover, the Tc-99m scan is a non-invasive test with a low radiation burden and simple operation. However, specialized expertise is necessary to acquire and interpret the images, and appropriate guidelines to perform a high-quality scan have been published.14 The aim of this study was to assess the utility of a Tc-99m scan in the diagnostic workup of pediatric patients with MD.

Materials and methods

This meta-analysis and systematic review were completed in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines.

Literature search

The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched to identify relevant studies published from inception to 1 January 2023. The search strategy consisted of the following keywords: (Meckel diverticulum) AND (Tc-99m scan). The authors contacted the original authors of the relevant studies to obtain additional information if required.

Study selection

Studies were included when the following criteria were met: (1) children; (2) Tc-99m scan was used as the test method; (3) surgical pathology examination was used as the reference standard; (4) randomized controlled trial (RCT), cohort study or case-control study.

Studies were excluded when the following criteria were met: (1) review, conference records, case reports, and animal experiments; (2) multiple studies based on the same data; (3) non-English studies.

Study screening and data extraction

Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, two researchers screened the literature, extracted data, and cross-checked the information. In case of discrepancies, the author of the original article was contacted for clarification. The following basic characteristics were extracted: country, experimental design, and original experimental data [the number of cases of TP (true positive), TN (true negative), FP (false positive), and FN (false negative)]. The authors defined a positive Tc-99m scan with negative results for both surgical exploration and Meckel diverticulum ultrasound as an "FP" and a negative Tc-99m scan, Meckel diverticulum ultrasound, and surgical exploration as a "TN".

Statistical analysis

Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QuadAS-2) was used to evaluate the literature quality. Statistical analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 (Cochrane Collaboration) and Stata/SE 12.0. A random-effects model was used for the results. I2 value was used to evaluate the degree of heterogeneity. All statistical tests were two-sided, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Sensitivity analysis was used to determine the source of heterogeneity. Begg's test was used to assess publication bias.

ResultsLiterature search and study selection

A total of 527 studies were initially identified using the literature search criteria. After screening for duplicates, 233 studies were excluded, while 263 studies were excluded after screening the title and abstract. Thereafter, 31 studies were selected for full-text evaluation of eligibility. Based on the study selection criteria, 12 studies were excluded. Finally, 19 studies (one prospective and 18 retrospective studies) were included. The flowchart is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Flow chart of literature screening for the meta-analysis.

(0.18MB).
Characteristics of the included studies and quality assessments

The characteristics and quality assessments of the selected studies are shown in Table 1.12,15-32 A total of 1336 patients were included in the studies.

Table 1.

Characteristics of the studies included in the meta-analysis.

Study  Country  Design  Total number  TP  FP  FN  TN 
Rho J H (2013) 15  Korea  retrospective  12  11 
Rerksuppaphol S(2004)16  Australia  retrospective 
Chen Q(2018)17  China  retrospective  78  55  23 
Papparella A(2014) 18  Italy  retrospective  19  11 
Shalaby RY(2005)19  Egypt  retrospective 
Al Janabi M(2014)20  UK  prospective  61  32  18 
Sancar (2015)21  Turkey  retrospective 
Swaniker F (1999)12  USA  retrospective  43  12  23 
Leonidas J C(1974)22  USA  retrospective  13 
Cooney D R(1982)23  USA  retrospective  266  12  14  238 
Gelfand M J(1978)24  USA  retrospective  55  44 
Ho JE(1975)25  USA  retrospective  20  17 
Fries M(1984) 26  SWEDEN  retrospective  22  10 
Poulsen KA(2000)27  Denmark  retrospective  55  49 
Kong MS(1994) 28  Taiwan(China)  retrospective  101  39  52 
Sinha CK(2013) 29  UK  retrospective  183  17  160 
Dolezal J(2008)30  Czech Republic  retrospective  80  77 
Mittal BR(2008)31  India  retrospective  105  16 
McCulley S(1996)32  South Africa  retrospective  77  65 
Quality assessment

The results of the quality assessment are shown in Figure 2. The overall quality of the 19 articles was relatively high. Ten studies had both a low risk of bias and low concerns regarding applicability. Five of the included studies had high risks.

Figure 2.

Quality assessment of the included studies based on QUADAS-2.

(0.31MB).
Combination of effect size

The weights of the studies of Rho JH (2013), Rerksuppaphol S (2004), and Chen Q (2018) were zero, indicating no significance of the research results, so they were excluded. A random-effects model was used due to significant heterogeneity. At last, the effect sizes of sensitivity, specificity, and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) were combined to conduct a meta-analysis of 16 studies, including 1115 patients. The combined sensitivity and specificity were 0.80 [Confidence Interval (95% CI, 0.73-0.86) and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.86-0.98)], respectively (Figure 3). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.85-0.90) (Figure 4).

Figure 3.

The combined sensitivity and specificity of the included studies.

(0.31MB).
Figure 4.

The SROC of the meta-analysis.

(0.11MB).
Heterogeneity test and subgroup after sensitivity analysis

The heterogeneity test revealed I2 = 91.3%, p = 0.000, which indicated significant heterogeneity. Subgroup analysis was conducted according to the sensitivity analysis (Figure 5).

Figure 5.

The meta-analysis and subgroup according to the sensitivity analysis.

(0.25MB).
Publication bias

A funnel plot was used to determine the publication bias (Figure 6). The funnel plot was symmetric, and Begg's test was not significant (p = 0.053), indicating no publication bias.

Figure 6.

The Funnel Plot of the meta-analysis.

(0.1MB).
Discussion

MD mostly occurs in children under 15 years of age.3 However, the age of the children was not clearly stated in the original literature included, so this meta-analysis could not be conducted by age groups. Some patients experience severe bleeding, which can be life-threatening. In recent years, the Tc-99m scan is the main method for clinical diagnosis of MD, and there are some new studies about the Tc-99m scan. So, the authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of all published articles, to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the Tc-99m scan.

After screening the published studies based on selection criteria, the authors included 19 studies. Three of these studies, Rho JH's study in 2013,15 Rerksuppaphol's study in 200416 and Chen Q's study in 2018,17 were excluded from the analysis because of their zero weights.

Finally, only 16 studies were included. Overall pooled diagnostic indices were as follows: sensitivity and specificity were 0.80 [Confidence Interval (95% CI, 0.73-0.86) and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.86-0.98)], respectively, indicating that most of them can be diagnosed in this way, and once diagnosed, they are confirmed.

However, the sensitivity of our study was much lower than the sensitivity of 92.1% (95% CI, 90.2-93.8) shown by Hosseinnezhad et al.,33 perhaps because the authors included some new articles, which added to the differences between groups. Another reason may be the limitations of the Tc-99m scan itself, which has clinical significance only if patients have obvious clinical symptoms, which may have also resulted in the very high specificity of 0.95 (95% CI, 0.86-0.98) in our study.

The ideal timing of the scan remains controversial. Some studies reported that the scan should be performed when the child is not actively bleeding to prevent rapid dilution of the radioisotope.34 However, other studies suggested that the scan should not be performed when there is no history of rectal bleeding. Hence, the timing of the scan and the method of capturing images are important.24,33,35,36

The sensitivity of the Tc-99m scan is affected by many factors, which is not only significantly related to the detection time in children (whether or not during active bleeding) but also closely related to the use of some drugs, such as H2 antagonists, 5-glutathione and glucagon, which can improve the accuracy of ectopic gastric mucosa detection and therefore affect the accuracy of diagnosis.34,37 For example, the use of H2 antagonists is particularly useful if there are insufficient gastric mucosal masses in the diverticulum or if the intradural imaging activity is diluted due to severe bleeding or excessive intestinal secretion, potentially leading to false negative scans. H2 antagonists such as ranitidine and cimetidine have been shown to improve scanning sensitivity by delaying the release of Tc-99m scan pertechnetate dye from mucosa and parietal cells.36

High heterogeneity was observed in our study. Hence, sensitivity analysis was performed on each data, and then subgroup analysis was performed on the results obtained from the sensitivity analysis. There was no statistically significant publication bias (Begg's test p = 0.053) in our study. This result strongly demonstrates the reliability of our results.

The high heterogeneity was related to each study, including sample size, study design, and the number of included cases. Therefore, more multi-centric prospective randomized controlled studies are needed in the future to demonstrate the clinical effects of the Tc-99m scan. Another possible factor leading to high heterogeneity in our study was the different demographics and characteristics.

The present study overcame many shortcomings of the previous meta-analyses. The authors verified our literature search results and study selection criteria. However, there were several limitations in this study. First, most of the included studies were retrospective. Therefore, these studies are not as representative as prospective randomized controlled studies. Second, the included studies and sample size were limited. Third, there was considerable heterogeneity between studies.

Conclusion

Tc-99m scan has important diagnostic significance in the clinic. However, given the relatively moderate sensitivity, which is always influenced by some factors, multiple methods should be used to actively diagnose the disease in clinical practice to avoid serious complications.

References
[1]
TH Berquist, Nolan NG, MA Adson, AJ. Schutt.
Diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum by radioisotope scanning.
Mayo Clin Proc, 48 (1973), pp. 98-102
[2]
ZM. Kilpatrick.
Scanning in diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum.
Hosp Practice, 9 (1974), pp. 131-138
[3]
FE Lüdtke, V Mende, H Köhler, G. Lepsien.
Incidence and frequency or complications and management of Meckel's diverticulum.
Surg Gynecol Obstet, 169 (1989), pp. 537-542
[4]
PC Das, PL Rao, K. Radhakrishna.
Meckel's diverticulum in children.
J Postgrad Med, 38 (1992), pp. 19-20
[5]
G. Cserni.
Gastric pathology in Meckel's diverticulum. Review of cases resected between 1965 and 1995.
Am J Clin Pathol, 106 (1996), pp. 782-785
[6]
RB Rutherford, DR. Akers.
Meckel's diverticulum: a review of 148 pediatric patients, with special reference to the pattern of bleeding and to mesodiverticular vascular bands.
Surgery, 59 (1966), pp. 618-626
[7]
R Harden, WD. Alexander.
Isotope uptake and scanning of stomach in man with 99mTc-pertechnetate.
Lancet, 1 (1967), pp. 1305-1307
[8]
TC Jewett Jr, DO Duszynski, JE. Allen.
The visualization of Meckel's diverticulum with 99mTc-pertechnetate.
Surgery, 68 (1970), pp. 567-570
[9]
R Jaros, A Schussheim, LM. Levy.
Preoperative diagnosis of bleeding Meckel's diverticulum utilizing 99m technetium pertechnetate scinti-imaging.
[10]
CR Wine, DL Nahrwold, JA. Waldhausen.
Role of the technetium scan in the diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum.
J Pediatr Surg, 9 (1974), pp. 885-888
[11]
GN Sfakianakis, JJ. Conway.
Detection of ectopic gastric mucosa in Meckel's diverticulum and in other aberrations by scintigraphy: I. Pathophysiology and 10-year clinical experience.
J Nucl Med, 22 (1981), pp. 647-654
[12]
F Swaniker, O Soldes, RB. Hirschl.
The utility of technetium 99m pertechnetate scintigraphy in the evaluation of patients with Meckel's diverticulum.
J Pediatr Surg, 34 (1999), pp. 760-764
[13]
DM. Howarth.
The role of nuclear medicine in the detection of acute gastrointestinal bleeding.
Semin Nucl Med, 36 (2006), pp. 133-146
[14]
PV Ford, SP Bartold, DM Fink-Bennett, PR Jolles, RJ Lull, AH Maurer, JE. Seabold.
Procedure guideline for gastrointestinal bleeding and Meckel's diverticulum scintigraphy. Society of Nuclear Medicine.
J Nucl Med, 40 (1999), pp. 1226-1232
[15]
JH Rho, JS Kim, SY Kim, SK Kim, YM Choi, SM Kim, et al.
Clinical features of symptomatic Meckel's diverticulum in children: comparison of scintigraphic and non-scintigraphic diagnosis.
Pediatr Gastroenterol Hepatol Nutr, 16 (2013), pp. 41-48
[16]
S Rerksuppaphol, JM Hutson, MR. Oliver.
Ranitidine-enhanced 99mtechnetium pertechnetate imaging in children improves the sensitivity of identifying heterotopic gastric mucosa in Meckel's diverticulum.
Pediatr Surg Int, 20 (2004), pp. 323-325
[17]
Q Chen, Z Gao, L Zhang, Y Zhang, T Pan, D Cai, et al.
Multifaceted behavior of Meckel's diverticulum in children.
J Pediatr Surg, 53 (2018), pp. 676-681
[18]
A Papparella, F Nino, C Noviello, A Marte, P Parmeggiani, A Martino, et al.
Laparoscopic approach to Meckel's diverticulum.
World J Gastroenterol, 20 (2014), pp. 8173-8178
[19]
RY Shalaby, SM Soliman, M Fawy, A Samaha.
Laparoscopic management of Meckel's diverticulum in children.
J Pediatr Surg, 40 (2005), pp. 562-567
[20]
M Al Janabi, M Samuel, A Kahlenberg, S Kumar, M Al-Janabi.
Symptomatic paediatric Meckel's diverticulum: stratified diagnostic indicators and accuracy of Meckel's scan.
Nucl Med Commun, 35 (2014), pp. 1162-1166
[21]
S Sancar, H Demirci, A Sayan, A Arıkan, A. Candar.
Meckel's diverticulum: ten years' experience.
Ulus Cerrahi Derg, 31 (2015), pp. 65-67
[22]
JC Leonidas, DR. Germann.
Technetium-99m pertechnetate imaging in diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum.
Arch Dis Child, 49 (1974), pp. 21-26
[23]
DR Cooney, DO Duszynski, E Camboa, MP Karp, TC Jewett Jr..
The abdominal technetium scan (a decade of experience).
J Pediatr Surg, 17 (1982), pp. 611-619
[24]
MJ Gelfand, EB Silberstein, J. Cox.
Radionuclide imaging of Meckel's diverticulum in children.
[25]
JE Ho, KM. Konieczny.
The sodium pertechnetate Tc 99m scan: an aid in the evaluation of gastrointestinal bleeding.
Pediatrics, 56 (1975), pp. 34-40
[26]
M Fries, W Mortensson, B. Robertson.
Technetium pertechnetate scintigraphy to detect ectopic gastric mucosa in Meckel's diverticulum.
Acta Radiol Diagn, 25 (1984), pp. 417-422
[27]
KA Poulsen, N. Qvist.
Sodium pertechnetate scintigraphy in detection of Meckel's diverticulum: is it usable?.
Eur J Pediatr Surg, 10 (2000), pp. 228-231
[28]
MS Kong, SC Huang, KY Tzen, JN. Lin.
Repeated technetium-99m pertechnetate scanning for children with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr, 18 (1994), pp. 284-287
[29]
CK Sinha, A Pallewatte, M Easty, P De Coppi, A Pierro, D Misra, et al.
Meckel's scan in children: a review of 183 cases referred to two paediatric surgery specialist centres over 18 years.
Pediatr Surg Int, 29 (2013), pp. 511-517
[30]
J Dolezal, J. Vizda.
Experiences with detection of the ectopic gastric mucosa by means of Tc-99m pertechnetate disodium scintigraphy in children with lower gastrointestinal bleeding.
Eur J Pediatr Surg, 18 (2008), pp. 258-260
[31]
BR Mittal, R Kashyap, A Bhattacharya, B Singh, BD Radotra, KL Narasimha Rao.
Meckel's diverticulum in infants and children; technetium-99m pertechnetate scintigraphy and clinical findings.
Hell J Nucl Med, 11 (2008), pp. 26-29
[32]
S McCulley, AJ Millar, MD Mann, H Rode, RA. Brown.
The value of sodium pertechnetate Tc99m scans in the diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum.
Pediatr Surg Int, 11 (1996), pp. 240-242
[33]
T Hosseinnezhad, F Shariati, G Treglia, VR Kakhki, K Sadri, HR Kianifar, et al.
99mTc-pertechnetate imaging for detection of ectopic gastric mucosa: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the pertinent literature.
Acta Gastroenterol Belg, 77 (2014), pp. 318-327
[34]
FL Datz, PE Christian, WR Hutson, JG Moore, KA. Morton.
Physiological and pharmacological interventions in radionuclide imaging of the tubular gastrointestinal tract.
Semin Nucl Med, 21 (1991), pp. 140-152
[35]
NK Ayati, SR Zakavi, R Sadeghi, VR. Kakhki.
Delayed imaging for detection of Meckel's diverticulum in case report Tc-99m pertechnetate scintigraphy.
Iran J Nucl Med, 16 (2008), pp. 45-48
[36]
R Kumar, M Tripathi, N Chandrashekar, S Agarwala, A Kumar, JB Dasan, A. Malhotra.
Diagnosis of ectopic gastric mucosa using 99Tcm-pertechnetate: spectrum of scintigraphic findings.
Br J Radiol, 78 (2005), pp. 714-720
[37]
F Saremi, H Jadvar, ME. Siegel.
Pharmacologic interventions in nuclear radiology: indications, imaging protocols, and clinical results.
Copyright © 2023. Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria
Download PDF
Idiomas
Jornal de Pediatria (English Edition)
Article options
Tools
en pt
Taxa de publicaçao Publication fee
Os artigos submetidos a partir de 1º de setembro de 2018, que forem aceitos para publicação no Jornal de Pediatria, estarão sujeitos a uma taxa para que tenham sua publicação garantida. O artigo aceito somente será publicado após a comprovação do pagamento da taxa de publicação. Ao submeterem o manuscrito a este jornal, os autores concordam com esses termos. A submissão dos manuscritos continua gratuita. Para mais informações, contate assessoria@jped.com.br. Articles submitted as of September 1, 2018, which are accepted for publication in the Jornal de Pediatria, will be subject to a fee to have their publication guaranteed. The accepted article will only be published after proof of the publication fee payment. By submitting the manuscript to this journal, the authors agree to these terms. Manuscript submission remains free of charge. For more information, contact assessoria@jped.com.br.
Cookies policy Política de cookies
To improve our services and products, we use "cookies" (own or third parties authorized) to show advertising related to client preferences through the analyses of navigation customer behavior. Continuing navigation will be considered as acceptance of this use. You can change the settings or obtain more information by clicking here. Utilizamos cookies próprios e de terceiros para melhorar nossos serviços e mostrar publicidade relacionada às suas preferências, analisando seus hábitos de navegação. Se continuar a navegar, consideramos que aceita o seu uso. Você pode alterar a configuração ou obter mais informações aqui.