Radionuclide evaluation of nonmalignant bone disorders.

Recent advances in nuclear imaging have improved the noninvasive evaluation of patients with nonmalignant bone disorders. When bone scanning agents are combined with bone marrow scanning agents and gallium-67 scintigraphy, a more accurate diagnosis can be obtained. By selecting the appropriate imaging sequence, it is often possible to distinguish cellulitis from underlying osteomyelitis. In patients with total hip replacements, it may be possible to separate postsurgical changes from prosthetic loosening or infection. Stress fractures in joggers may be detected by radionuclide bone scintigraphy before radiographs become abnormal. These nuclear imaging procedures can be done in most hospitals.