The clinical significance of radionuclide bone and gallium scanning in osteomyelitis of the head and neck.

Osteomyelitis of the head and neck remains a difficult clinical problem both in diagnosis and treatment evaluation. The purpose of this manuscript is to review our clinical experience with 25 cases of osteomyelitis distributed evenly among the temporal bone and skull base, the paranasal sinuses, and the mandible. Radionuclide bone and gallium scan images accurately depicted the biologic activity of the disease process and permitted accurate treatment evaluation and patient monitoring. This work demonstrates the potentials and limitations of radionuclide imaging with bone and gallium scan agents and attempts to define a role for their contemporary use in the management of osteomyelitis of the head and neck.