[Nuclear medicine procedures in paediatric patients].

The paediatricians rely primarily scintigraphic examinations in two situations: when they need functional information to decide operation (measurement of separate function of each kidney for example) or when they want to know if a bone disease is involved, in front of a sudden onset of musculoskeletal disorder. Kidney and bone scan represent 85% of applications for examinations. Some scintigraphic examinations have an essential role in the therapeutic evaluation and staging of malignancies such as MIBG-123 scintigraphy in neuroblastoma and FDG-18F scintigraphy in lymphoma. This presentation would not be complete without mentioning some tests whose indications in children are different from adults like the lung scan that evaluates separate functions of both lungs in diseases such as lung malformations and thyroid scintigraphy performed in cases of congenital hypothyroidism to determine the mechanism of this disease. Finally, to locate a Meckel's diverticulum in front of a gastrointestinal bleeding. Because of its indications, pediatric nuclear medicine concerns a high proportion of very young children, and must take into account the specificities of this age.