pyrophosphate and Sinusitis

The present paper compares scintigraphy using leucocytes labelled with 111 indium oxine sulphate with conventional 99Tc pyrophosphate scintigraphy for the investigation of inflammatory processes in the region of the jaw bones. It also tries to establish whether progress can be made in the field of differential diagnosis using a combination of these two methods of investigation. It is shown that conventional scintigraphy using 99Tc pyrophosphate represents an approved method of investigation, whereas scintigraphy using autologous leucocytes does not as yet fulfil the expectations that have been placed in it.

Topics: Abscess; Bone Cysts; Diphosphates; Granulocytes; Humans; Hydroxyquinolines; Indium; Jaw Diseases; Maxillary Sinus; Organometallic Compounds; Oxyquinoline; Radionuclide Imaging; Sinusitis; Technetium; Technetium Tc 99m Pyrophosphate

Scintigraphy is a non-invasive technically simple tool for diagnostic in the head and neck. Using nuclides with a short life time the irradiation of the skeleton is less than 1 rd. Scintigraphy in addition to X-ray examination is useful in diagnosis and surveillance of different osteoplastic tumors (like osteoma, osteoplastoma, cementoma, meningioma) and in systemic diseases of the bones (fibrotic dysplasia, Morbus Paget). Concerning inflammatory diseases osteomyelitis is the main indication for scintigraphy, but it is as well usefull in the diagnosis of complications of inflammatory diseases of the sinuses, like mucocelia or non resorbed antibiotics which provoked an inflammatory reaction of the mucosa. There is no indication for scintigraphy regarding its low specificity in common acute or chronic sinusitis.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Bone Neoplasms; Diagnosis, Differential; Diphosphates; Diphosphonates; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Osteolysis; Osteoma; Osteomyelitis; Radionuclide Imaging; Sinusitis; Technetium; Technetium Tc 99m Pyrophosphate; Tomography, X-Ray