J Bone Joint Surg Br
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J Bone Joint Surg Br · Mar 1994
Isotope bone scanning for acute osteomyelitis and septic arthritis in children.
We prospectively studied 86 children to assess the value and accuracy of isotope bone scanning in the diagnosis of suspected acute haematogenous osteomyelitis and septic arthritis. The patients were scanned because of difficulty in localising the exact site of the pathology. Characteristic scan appearances were found. ⋯ The main reason for a false-positive scan was contiguous soft-tissue infection. The predictive value for a negative scan to be correct was 63%. One reason for a false-negative scan was that the patient was in the transitional phase from cold to hot.