Radionuclide scintigraphy in tuberculous enteritis

Scintigraphy with indium-111 labeled leucocytes and gallium-67 citrate was performed on 6 patients with proven tuberculous enteritis. The ability of both techniques to visualize areas of disease in this condition was demonstrated. When compared with endoscopy (either upper gastrointestinal endoscopy or colonoscopy), Ga-67 citrate had a sensitivity of 0.80 and a specificity of 1.00. The sensitivity and specificity of In-111 labeled leucocytes was 0.60 and 0.96, respectively. The superiority of Ga-67 over In-111 was statistically significant. Positive scintigrams were obtained despite prior treatment with antituberculous chemotherapy.