Gallium scintigraphy for diagnosis of septic arthritis and osteomyelitis in children.

Thirty-four children with presumptive acute osteomyelitis or septic arthritis underwent early gallium-67 citrate scintigraphy and have been retrospectively reviewed. Diagnostic accuracy using this technique was 91%. Gallium-67 citrate is a more reliable radiopharmaceutical agent for the detection of selected acute musculoskeletal infections than either technetium methylene diphosphonate or indium-111. However, the radiation dosage from gallium is higher than from other radiopharmaceutical agents, and the authors would recommend its use only in cases where the diagnosis cannot be made on the basis of clinical, laboratory, or plain roentgenographic criteria.