Added value of SPECT/CT in patients suspected of having bone infection: preliminary results.

Aim: We evaluated the contribution of SPECT/CT as an adjunct to combined three-phase bone scintigraphy (planar and SPECT) for diagnosing and localizing bone infection. Subsequently, the diagnostic performance of SPECT/CT was compared to visual fusion of SPECT with data of additional CT, X-ray, or MRI studies (SPECT + CT/X-ray/MRI).

Materials And Methods: Thirty-one patients suspected of bone infection, presenting pathological findings on triple-phase bone scintigraphy, underwent additional SPECT/CT.

The value of SPET/CT in chronic osteomyelitis.

Immunoscintigraphy with technetium-99m labelled anti-granulocyte antibodies (AGA) is an equivalent technique to imaging with in vitro-labelled leucocytes, which is now considered state of the art in the diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected post-traumatic chronic osteomyelitis. In this study, we evaluated the use of a combined single-photon emission tomography/computed tomography (SPET/CT) device to improve detection and anatomical definition of inflammatory bone lesions. Twenty-seven patients with 29 sites of suspected bone infection underwent immunoscintigraphy with 750 MBq 99mTc-labelled AGA.