Nuclear medicine techniques in septic arthritis and osteomyelitis

Imagers are consulted to confirm the presence of acute osteomyelitis, to evaluate disease activity and chronic osteomyelitis, and to confirm the presence of a sequestrum in active chronic osteomyelitis. Scintigraphy remains the most sensitive and specific modality for the diagnosis of acute osteomyelitis and the evaluation of activity of chronic osteomyelitis. Computed tomography is the best examination for the confirmation of the presence of sequestra. In this article, the authors review the various radionuclide techniques, their applications in the different clinical settings, and the way in which they correlate with other imaging techniques.