Clinical applications of radiolabeled blood elements in inflammatory bowel disease.

This work discusses the main clinical features of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the methods to obtain an accurate diagnostic. Nuclear medicine procedures are deeply analyzed, with special emphasis in those where clinical experience is larger and that are available for clinical practice in most countries. In the opinion of the authors 99mTc-HMPAO is the first choice agent, while 111In-oxine could be considered as the gold standard for evaluation of new agents. In the context of IBD, the WBC scintigraphy is useful for its diagnosis (early and accurate) and the evaluation of disease extension (whole bowel examination, without patient preparation and negligible risk). The evaluation of disease severity deserves further experiences.