REF009 - Lacrimal Scintigraphy

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust - Nuclear Medicine

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SOP Code	Title	Review Date
REF009	Lacrimal Scintigraphy	2028-01-21

Authorised By	Authorising Role	Authorisation Signature (only on master paper copy)	Date Authorised
Prof. G Avery	ARSAC Licence Holder		2025-01-21

REF009 - Lacrimal Scintigraphy

See REF000 - Referring to Nuclear Medicine (NLAG) for details on how to refer.

Description

Lacrimal scintigraphy (or dacroscintigraphy) is a noninvasive, low-radiation-dose method of evaluating the nasolacrimal drainage system. It is used to demonstrate patency of the system and to localize the general area of obstruction, which can be important for pre-surgical planning. It also can be used post-operatively to evaluate whether the surgery was successful.^[1]

ARSAC Licence Holders
Prof Ged Avery

Nuclide	Pharmaceutical Form	Local DRL (MBq)
Tc99m	Nanocolloid	4 (each eye)

	Radiopharmaceutical
Typical Radiation Dose (mSv)	0.04

Staff Entitled to Refer

The referrer may be any clinician holding a current valid medical qualification and currently employed in Secondary Care.

Supplementary Drugs

None

Contraindications

Absolute:	Acute Conjunctivitis requiring treatment ^[2]
Relative:	Irritable/Itchy eyes on the day of the test ^[2] Inability to tolerate the imaging procedure ^[2] Pregnancy/Breast feeding ^[2]

Clinical Indications

Localisation of nasolacrimal duct obstruction

Post-operative evaluation of nasolacrimal surgery

^[1] A MacDonald, S Burrell. Infrequently performed studies in Nuclear Medicine: Part 1. J Nucl Med Technol 2008; 36:132–143.

^[2] Lacrimal scintigraphy BNMS Guidelines. Ines et al. Available online (Accessed on 21/05/2025).