Hepatobiliary rim sign: new implications for acute and complicated cholecystitis.

Purpose: The role of a 'rim sign' in increasing specificity for acute cholecystitis and sensitivity for complicated acute cholecystitis has been substantiated in many small retrospective studies. We sought to corroborate this correlation in a large population, as we have encountered doubt among surgeons about the emergent implications of this sign.

Methods: We performed a small pilot interobserver reliability test with five nuclear medicine physicians from outside institutions.

Tc-99m sestamibi parathyroid gland scintigraphy: added value of Tc-99m pertechnetate thyroid imaging for increasing interpretation confidence and avoiding additional testing.

Purpose: To evaluate the benefit of adding a pertechnetate parathyroid scan (dual-isotope imaging) in the interpretation of sestamibi dual-phase parathyroid scintigraphy.

Material And Methods: One hundred and sixteen dual Tc-99m sestamibi (MIBI) and Tc-99m pertechnetate subtraction parathyroid studies, performed between January 2000 and February 2006, were retrospectively reviewed. Dual-phase technetium sestamibi examinations were initially interpreted, with blinding to the technetium pertechnetate findings.

An open-label pilot trial of ibandronate for complex regional pain syndrome.

Objective: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type I, also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, usually develops after trauma or immobilization, is characterized by focal pain and autonomic dysregulation, and sometimes focal trophic changes such as osteoporosis. The pathophysiology is unknown and there have been few controlled treatment trials. The purpose of this study was to obtain pilot data on the safety and efficacy of a highly potent bisphosphonate, ibandronate, for the treatment of CRPS, which might be responsive to bisphosphonates' inhibition of osteoclast and anti-inflammatory activity.

What is the relationship of low back pain to signs of abnormal skeletal metabolism detected by bone scans?

Background: In approximately 80-85% of patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP), a precise pathoanatomical diagnosis cannot be identified. Mechanisms of bone nociception may contribute to NSLBP.

Objective: To determine whether findings on bone scans, which provide a pathophysiological picture of functional activity, are associated with self-reports of NSLBP intensity.

Radionuclide imaging in urology.

Radiopharmaceutic tracers are used commonly to diagnose and monitor benign and malignant conditions of the genitourinary system. Most often, these tracers assess renal function and obstruction in "normal" and transplanted renal units. More recently, especially with the advent of positron emission tomography (PET)/CT, the role of nuclear pharmaceutics in the staging and monitoring of malignancies has expanded.