technetium-tc-99m-sulfur-colloid and Femoral-Neck-Fractures

Twenty-six patients with late complications following femoral neck fracture were examined with both skeletal and bone marrow radionuclide scintimetry. There was no correlation between the methods with respect to the quantitative assessment of femoral head vascularity based on different uptake ratios comparing the fractured and the intact side. Skeletal scintimetry always had good image quality and permitted reliable differentiation between nonunion of the fracture and late segmental collapse, in contrast to bone marrow scintimetry which gave poor image quality. Skeletal scintimetry thus seems superior to bone marrow scintimetry for assessment and differential diagnosis of late complications following femoral neck fracture. It is emphasized that the physiological mechanisms for radionuclide uptake must be taken into account when comparing scintimetric studies using different tracers.

Topics: Aged; Bone Marrow; Diagnosis, Differential; Diphosphonates; Female; Femoral Neck Fractures; Fractures, Ununited; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Radionuclide Imaging; Technetium; Technetium Tc 99m Medronate; Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid; Time Factors

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Bone Nails; Female; Femoral Neck Fractures; Fracture Fixation, Internal; Hip; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Radionuclide Imaging; Sulfur; Technetium; Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid