Bone scan features in spontaneous knee pain

In 21 patients with "spontaneous" knee pain, 99mTc-MDP bone scan was found to be more sensitive than clinical and radiographic examination in detecting alterations of the joint components. These alterations were shown by increased radionuclide uptake in the compartments where pain was present, which was most commonly the medial femorotibial compartment, although the femoropatellar compartment was also frequently affected. The authors conclude that bone scan should be the first imaging study performed on the knee in order to establish if further tests are necessary.