Radionuclide imaging: Past, present and future outlook in the diagnosis of infected prosthetic joints.

Radionuclide imaging: Past, present and future outlook in the diagnosis of infected prosthetic joints. Hell J Nucl Med. 2015 Sep-Dec;18 Suppl 1:95-102 Authors: Brammen L, Palestro C, Sinzinger H Abstract OBJECTIVE: A serious complication of joint replacement surgery is infection, which results in prolonged invalidity as well as removal and subsequent re-implantation after lengthy antibiotic therapy. In terms of diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine has presented several tracers and imaging modalities over the years to be used in prosthetic joint infection. The PubMed/MEDLINE literature database was systematically examined for publications on infection, arthroplasty, joint replacement, prosthetic joint, gallium, labeled leukocytes, sulfur colloid, antimicrobial peptides, Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG), positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT), and single-photon emission (SPET-CT). This was determined to be a comprehensive review, not a meta-analysis of prosthetic joint infection and diagnostic imaging in the field of nuclear medicine. Prosthetic joint replacement is more frequently being employed as a way of improving the quality of life in an ever-ageing population. Complications following joint replacement surgery include aseptic or mechanical loosening, as well as polyethylene wear and prosthetic joint infection. The rate of infection is estimated to be between 1%-3%. The therapeutic management of these ...
Source: Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine - Category: Nuclear Medicine Tags: Hell J Nucl Med Source Type: research