• D Ståhlberg, K Måre, S Granqvist, B Agren, S Richter, and R Löfberg.
• Department of Gastroenterology, Karolinska Institue, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
• Dis. Colon Rectum. 1996 Oct 1; 39 (10): 1146-52.

AimThis study was undertaken to evaluate technetium 99m (Tc 99m) hexamethyl propylenamine oxime (HMPAO)-labeled leukocyte scintigraphy for assessment of disease extent and activity in acute colitis.Patients And MethodsTwenty-seven patients, hospitalized because of acute watery and/or bloody diarrhea, were investigated using both total colonoscopy and Tc 99m HMPAO-labeled leukocyte scintigraphy within 48 hours after admittance.ResultsFinal diagnoses were ulcerative colitis in 14 patients, Crohn's disease in 7 patients, and infectious colitis in 6 patients. Using colonoscopy as the reference method, the maximum extent of colitis was correctly assessed by the leukocyte scan in 18 patients (67 percent), although rectal engagement was not visualized in 5 (19 percent). In six additional patients, there was almost complete agreement between the two methods. One other patient, with leftsided ulcerative colitis, was erroneously assessed as having total extent. Two other patients (one with Crohn's colitis and one with infectious colitis) had different segments incorrectly assessed. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of scintigraphy in detecting active inflammatory segments were 0.85, 0.83, and 0.85, respectively. Intensity of inflammatory activity assessed by the leukocyte scan correlated significantly with colonoscopic assessment (r = 0.719; P < 0.0001).ConclusionInformation regarding extent, localization, and disease activity in patients with acute colitis of inflammatory or infectious origin may be satisfactorily obtained using Tc 99m HMPAO-labeled leukocyte scanning. The noninvasive nature of the method makes it an attractive early alternative to other investigational procedures such as total colonoscopy or barium examination, particularly in cases with an established diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease.

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