HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Palermo, F. Articles by Turra, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Palermo, F. Articles by Turra, S.

Comparison of Technetium-99m-MDP, Technetium-99m-WBC and Technetium-99m-HIG in Musculoskeletal Inflammation

Nuclear Medicine Unit, Critical Care Unit and Orthopedic Division of Regional Hospital, Treviso, Italy

Correspondence: For correspondence or reprints contact: Prof. Franco Palermo, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Regional Hospital, 31100 Treviso, Italy.

ABSTRACT

This study compared three radionuclide techniques in distinguishing musculoskeletal infection from noninfectious inflammation. Methods: Thirty-five orthopedic patients with suspected musculoskeletal infection were examined using three radionuclide tech niques in sequence: triphasic bone scintigraphy, ^99mTc radioleukocytes (^99mTc-WBC)scintigraphy and ^99mTc human immunoglobulin ^99mTc-Hig) scintigraphy. Two "early" and "late" acquisitions were performed, at 4–6 hr and 20–24 hr postinjection, respectively. Patients who were diagnosed as suffering from noninflammatory lesions became the controls. We calcu"late"d for all studies one index of inflammation (Infl) as the ratio between counts in the uptake area and counts in an equal area of normal tissue. Results: The "early" radiolabeled leukocytes and "late" Hig scintigraphy allowed the greatest ability to distinguish between infections and noninfectious inflammations (p < 0.01 land p < 0.016) with a sensitivity of 96.6% and 96.5% and specificity of 71% and 100%, respectively. Hig and radioleukocytes allowed distinguishing infections from non inflammatory diseases at both examinations. Conclusion: The "early" radioleukocyte scintigraphy allowed us to separate infections from noninfectious inflammations. In contrast, the same result can be obtained only with the "late" scan in the Hig study, but Hig mapped the spread of the inflammation into soft tissues better. Hig might be an alternative to radioleukocytes because of its simple preparation, similar accuracy and safety.

Key Words: inflammation • orthopedic disease • triphasic bone scan • leukocyte scan • immunoscintigraphy

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. Reinartz, T. Mumme, B. Hermanns, U. Cremerius, D. C. Wirtz, W. M. Schaefer, F.-U. Niethard, and U. Buell Radionuclide imaging of the painful hip arthroplasty: POSITRON-EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY VERSUS TRIPLE-PHASE BONE SCANNING J Bone Joint Surg Br, April 1, 2005; 87-B(4): 465 - 470. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]