Original Articles: PDF OnlyHepatobiliary Imaging and the Use of Intravenous MorphineKESLAR, PAULA J. M.D; TURBINER, ELLIOTT H. D.O Author Information From the Department of Radiology, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Clinical Nuclear Medicine: August 1987 - Volume 12 - Issue 8 - p 592-596 Buy Abstract Thirty-one patients suspected of acute cholecystitis were studied prospectively using hepatobiliary imaging in conjunction with intravenous morphine. If persistent nonvisualization of the gallbladder occurred post-morphine, delayed 4 hour imaging was performed. Intravenous morphine correctly diagnosed acute cholecystitis in 94% of cases. Through the use of intravenous morphine, imaging time can be decreased from 4 to 1.5 hours. © Lippincott-Raven Publishers.
