White blood cell scintigraphy for differentiation of infection and aseptic loosening: A retrospective study of 76 painful hip prostheses

Diabetic foot infections (DFIs) represent one of the most frequent and disabling morbidities of longstanding diabetes; therefore, early diagnosis is mandatory. The aim of this multicenter retrospective study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of white blood cell scintigraphy (WBC), 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18F) FDG PET/CT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in patients with suspected DFI. Images and clinical data from 251 patients enrolled by five centers were collected in order to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of WBC, FDG, and MRI in diagnosing osteomyelitis (OM), soft-tissue infection (STI), and Charcot osteoarthropathy. In OM, WBC acquired following the European Society of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) guidelines was more specific and accurate than MRI (91.9% vs. 70.7%, p < 0.0001 and 86.2% vs. 67.1%, p = 0.003, respectively). In STI, both FDG and WBC achieved a significantly higher specificity than MRI (97.9% and 95.7% vs. 83.6%, p = 0.04 and p = 0.018, respectively). In Charcot, both MRI and WBC demonstrated a significantly higher specificity and accuracy than FDG (88.2% and 89.3% vs. 62.5%, p = 0.0009; 80.3% and 87.9% vs. 62.1%, p < 0.02, respectively). Moreover, in Charcot, WBC was more specific than MRI (89.3% vs. 88.2% p < 0.0001). Given the limitations of a retrospective study, WBC using EANM guidelines was shown to be the most reliable imaging modality to differentiate between OM, STI, and Charcot in patients with suspected DFI.

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Analysis of 18F-FDG uptake patterns in PET for diagnosis of septic and aseptic loosening after total hip arthroplasty

Nuklearmedizin ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1625733 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 42 (06) ◽

pp. 234-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

T. Mumme ◽

P. Reinartz ◽

D. Wirtz ◽

F. U. Niethard ◽

U. Büll ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aseptic Loosening ◽

Femoral Component ◽

Hip Prosthesis ◽

Prosthetic Infection ◽

Clinical Value ◽

Septic Loosening ◽

Hip Prostheses ◽

Fdg Uptake ◽

Positron Emission ◽

Painful Hip

Summary Aim: Identification of typical patterns for fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in positron emission tomography (PET) to detect aseptic loosening of hip prosthesis (ace-tabular and/or femoral component) and prosthetic infection. Methods: 18 patients with painful hip prosthesis underwent PET using a dedicated full ring scanner after application of 200-300 MBq FDG. The interface between bone and surrounding soft tissue or bone as displayed on coronal slices was divided into 12 segments in accordance with the classifications of Delee and Gruen. FDG uptake in each of the segments was scored (0-3) by two independent observers. Intraoperative findings were regarded as the gold standard. Results: After surgical revision 14 acetabular components and 9 femoral components were found to be loose and prosthetic infection was present in 7 prostheses. Loosening of the acetabular component was correlated to enhanced uptake in the middle of the acetabular interface, while loosening of the femoral component was correlated to enhanced uptake in the proximal and middle segment of the lateral femoral interface and the proximal segment of the medial femoral interface. A similar pattern was found in prosthetic infection with high uptake along the middle portion of the lateral fe-moral interface. In 6 of 7 infected prostheses loosening of the acetabular and of the femoral component was present. Taking the typical uptake patterns as criteria for loosening and grade 3 uptake as an additional criterion for septic loosening the accuracy of PET imaging in the detection of loosening of the acetabular or the femoral component and of prosthetic infection was 72, 78 and 89%, respectively. Conclusion: This pilot study presents FDG-PET as a promising diagnostic tool for patients with painful hip prostheses. Its clinical value should be evaluated in a larger patient population.

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