Bone Scan: How To Prepare

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How To Prepare

Before the bone scan, tell your doctor if:

• You are or might be pregnant.
• You are breast-feeding. Use formula (discard your breast milk) for 1 to 2 days after the scan until the radioactive tracer has been eliminated from your body.
• Within the past 4 days, you have had an X-ray test using barium contrast material (such as a barium enema) or have taken a medicine (such as Pepto-Bismol) that contains bismuth. Barium and bismuth can interfere with test results.

You may wish to limit your fluids for up to 4 hours before the test because you will be asked to drink extra fluids after the radioactive tracer is injected. You will empty your bladder right before the scan.

You usually have to wait 1 to 3 hours after the radioactive tracer is injected before your bone scan is done. So you may want to bring some reading materials or a project to pass the time during this waiting period. For some types of bone scans, pictures are taken during the tracer injection, immediately afterward, and then 3 to 5 hours after the injection.

You may be asked to sign a consent form before the test. Talk to your doctor about any concerns you have regarding the need for the test, its risks, how it will be done, or what the results will mean. To help you understand the importance of this test, fill out the medical test information form (What is a PDF document?) .

Last updated:	October 24, 2008
Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Myo Min Han, MD - Nuclear Medicine
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer