Osteomyelitis complicates up to one third of diabetic foot infections, is often due to direct contamination from a soft-tissue lesion, and represents a clinical challenge. Early diagnosis is important, because antibiotic therapy can be curative and may prevent amputation. The precise anatomic localization of increased ¹⁸F-FDG uptake provided by PET/CT enables accurate differentiation between osteomyelitis and soft-tissue infection, as illustrated in these PET, PET/CT, and CT images of a nonhealing foot wound in a diabetic man.

SEE PAGE 444.