Evaluation of (99m)Tc-ciprofloxacin scintigraphy in a rabbit model of Staphylococcus aureus prosthetic joint infection.

Abstract

UNLABELLED:

Ciprofloxacin, a quinolone antibiotic drug, binds to DNA topoisomerase IV and DNA gyrase of various bacteria. Thus ciprofloxacin labeled with (99m)Tc could potentially act as a specific marker allowing discrimination between infection and sterile inflammation. We evaluated these properties on a rabbit model of prosthetic joint infection previously validated. We compared the images obtained in 2 groups of animals: rabbits with infected (G1; n = 6) and uninfected (G2; n = 7) prosthesis.

METHODS:

Partial right-knee arthroplasty was performed on 13 New Zealand White female rabbits, with a tibial silicone-elastomer implant fitting into the intramedullary canal of the tibia. After the surgical wound was closed, 10(7) cfu of a clinical strain of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus were injected into the joint in G1 rabbits. G2 rabbits were injected with sterile saline. No antibiotic therapy was given to the animals. (99m)Tc-ciprofloxacin planar imaging was performed on days 5, 12, and 19 after surgery, and after 3 mo in 1 uninfected rabbit. Images were obtained 1, 4, and 24 h after injection (147 +/- 13 MBq).

RESULTS:

In G1, increased right knee (99m)Tc-ciprofloxacin uptake was observed in 3 of 5 rabbits on day 5, and in all cases on days 12 and 19. Killing of the animals revealed purulent arthritis, osteitis, and tibial myelitis. In G2, significant right-knee uptake was found on days 12 and 19 in 5 of 6 rabbits, and after 3 mo in 1; all sets of images were negative in 1 animal. Bacteriologic studies after the animals were killed were negative in G2. Mean right/left knee uptake ratios on day 19 (4-h images) were 1.8 +/- 0.4 in G1 versus 1.4 +/- 0.3 in G2 (not significant). Late images did not discriminate between infected and uninfected arthroplasty.

CONCLUSION:

Results of (99m)Tc-ciprofloxacin imaging in rabbits with infected/uninfected knee prosthesis suggest good sensitivity but lack of specificity for the detection of S. aureus infection.

• Authors: Laure Sarda, Azzam Saleh-Mghir, Can Peker, Alain Meulemans, Anne-Claude Crémieux, Dominique Le Guludec
• Journal: Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine (J Nucl Med) Vol. 43 Issue 2 Pg. 239-45 (Feb 2002) ISSN: 0161-5505 [Print] United States
• PMID: 11850491 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Anti-Infective Agents
• Ciprofloxacin
• Technetium

Topics

• Animals
• Anti-Infective Agents (pharmacokinetics)
• Autoradiography
• Ciprofloxacin (pharmacokinetics)
• Female
• Knee Joint (diagnostic imaging)
• Knee Prosthesis (adverse effects)
• Prosthesis-Related Infections (diagnostic imaging)
• Rabbits
• Radionuclide Imaging
• Staphylococcal Infections (diagnostic imaging)
• Technetium (pharmacokinetics)
• Tissue Distribution