Scan carries only a few risks. They include:

• Allergic reaction to medications containing radioactive tracers used for the scan
• Bruising at the injection site
• Radiation exposure, which is small

Tell your doctor if there’s a chance you could be pregnant or if you’re breast-feeding. In most cases, nuclear medicine tests, such as the scan, aren’t performed in pregnant women because of potential harm to the baby.

Results of a scan include:

• The radioactive tracer moved freely with the bile from your liver into your gallbladder and small intestine.
• Slow movement of radioactive tracer. Slow movement of the tracer might indicate a blockage or obstruction, or a problem in liver function.
• No radioactive tracer seen in the gallbladder. Inability to see the radioactive tracer in your gallbladder might indicate acute inflammation of the gallbladder (acute cholecystitis).
• Abnormally low gallbladder ejection fraction. The amount of tracer leaving your gallbladder is low after you’ve been given a drug to make it empty, which might indicate chronic inflammation (chronic cholecystitis).
• Radioactive tracer detected in other areas. Radioactive tracer found outside of your biliary system might indicate a leak.