Value of bone scintiscan for diagnosis of arterial prosthesis infection: preliminary results

Diagnosis of arterial prosthetic infection is often difficult to confirm. Several cases of lower extremity hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA) have been associated with arterial prosthetic infection. The presence of bone and joint abnormalities could constitute an early sign of HOA. The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the diagnostic value of routine bone scintiscan in patients hospitalized for suspected arterial prosthesis infection. Between December 1995 and May 1997, 17 patients with suspected infection were admitted to our institution. All underwent bone scintiscan before surgical treatment. Presence or absence of infection was defined according to the criteria proposed by Yeager. During the same period, bone scintiscan was performed in a control group of 8 patients with arterial prostheses but no clinical or laboratory signs of infection. Scintiscans were studied to detect bone and joint abnormalities distal to the arterial prosthesis. The results of this preliminary study indicate that routine bone scintiscan can assist definitive diagnosis in patients with suspected arterial prosthesis infection. Demonstration of bone and joint abnormalities distal to a prosthesis appears to be a fairly sensitive and highly specific sign of infection.