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68Ga-citrate PET/CT for evaluating patients with infections of the bone: preliminary results
Cristina Nanni1, Costantino Errani, Luca Boriani
1Medicina Nucleare, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Policlinico S Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy. cristina.nanni@aosp.bo.it
Unlabelled:
The aim of this work was to preliminarily evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and overall accuracy of (68)Ga-citrate PET/CT in a population of patients with suspected bone infections.
Methods:
We enrolled 31 patients with suspected osteomyelitis or diskitis who underwent a total of forty (68)Ga-citrate PET/CT scans. The results were compared with different combinations of diagnostic procedures (MRI, radiography, CT, or white blood cell scintigraphy), biopsy (when diagnostic), and follow-up data (at least 1 y) to determine the performance of (68)Ga-citrate PET/CT.
Results:
We found a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 76%, a positive predictive value of 85%, a negative predictive value of 100%, and an overall accuracy of 90%.
Conclusion:
Although preliminary, these data confirm a possible role for (68)Ga-citrate in the diagnosis of bone infections, especially in consideration of its favorable characteristics.
