TC-99M HMPAO LABELED LEUKOCYTES SUPERIOR TO BONE-SCAN IN THE DETECTION OF OSTEOMYELITIS IN CHILDREN

Seven children (aged 7 to 16 years) with confirmed osteomyelitis underwent imaging with Tc-99m HMPAO labeled leukocytes and with Tc-99m diphosphonates. The patients were scanned at 1/2 hour and at 3 hours. The scans were evaluated visually, and the lesion-to-normal bone ratios were quantitated. All the lesions on leukocyte scans and six out of seven lesions in bone scans were readily detectable 1/2 hour after injection of the radiopharmaceutical, but 3 hours is the better imaging time. In quantitative analysis, the lesion-to-normal bone ratio increased with leukocytes significantly higher than with the bone scans (P < 0.05). When the scintigraphic findings were compared with surgical and radiologic results, the leukocyte images detected and localized lesions better than the bone scans. According to these preliminary results, Tc-99m HMPAO labeled leukocytes seem to offer a rapid and accurate method for detecting bone infections.