Limitations of indium leukocyte imaging for the diagnosis of spine infections.

The usefulness of indium-111 white blood cell (WBC) scintigraphy in the detection of spine sepsis was studied in 22 patients who had open or percutaneous biopsies for microbiologic diagnosis. The indium images in 18 patients with vertebral infection were falsely negative in 15 (83%) and truly positive in 3 (17%). All four patients with negative cultures and histology had true-negative scans. The indium-111 WBC imaging results yielded a sensitivity of 17%, a specificity of 100%, and an accuracy rate of 31%. Prior antibiotic therapy was correlated with a high incidence of false-negative scans and photon-deficient indium-111 WBC uptake. The usefulness of indium-111 WBC scintigraphy for the diagnosis of vertebral infection may be limited to those patients who have not been treated with antibiotics previously.