Imaging of inflammation by PET, conventional scintigraphy, and other imaging techniques.

Abstract

Nuclear medicine imaging procedures play an important role in the assessment of inflammatory diseases. With the advent of 3-dimensional anatomic imaging, there has been a tendency to replace traditional planar scintigraphy by CT or MRI. Furthermore, scintigraphic techniques may have to be combined with other imaging modalities to achieve high sensitivity and specificity, and some may require time-consuming labeling procedures. On the other hand, new developments such as combined SPECT/CT increase the diagnostic power of scintigraphy. Also, the advent of PET had a considerable impact on the use of nuclear medicine imaging techniques. In this review, we aim to provide nuclear medicine specialists and clinicians with the relevant information on rational and efficient use of nuclear medicine imaging techniques in the assessment of patients with osteomyelitis, infected vascular prostheses, metastatic infectious disease, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, inflammatory bowel disease, sarcoidosis, and fever of unknown origin.

• Authors: Martin Gotthardt, Chantal P Bleeker-Rovers, Otto C Boerman, Wim J G Oyen
• Journal: Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine (J Nucl Med) Vol. 51 Issue 12 Pg. 1937-49 (Dec 2010) ISSN: 1535-5667 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 21078798 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Radiopharmaceuticals

Topics

• Arthritis, Rheumatoid (diagnostic imaging, pathology)
• Diagnostic Imaging (methods)
• Fever of Unknown Origin (diagnostic imaging, pathology)
• Humans
• Infections (diagnostic imaging, pathology)
• Inflammation (diagnostic imaging, pathology)
• Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (diagnostic imaging, pathology)
• Positron-Emission Tomography (methods)
• Radionuclide Imaging (methods)
• Radiopharmaceuticals
• Vasculitis (diagnostic imaging, pathology)