[The diagnostic value of scintigraphy and x-rays in unclear arthralgias of the hands]

33 patients presenting with arthralgia of wrists and finger joints were examined by radionuclide imaging and radiography. In 22 patients clinical symptoms turned out to be caused by inflammation, 11 patients suffered from degenerative joint disorder. Radionuclide imaging proved once more to be nonspecific albeit very sensitive; plain film radiography exhibited good specificity. The combination of both methods resulted in an increase in accuracy as compared to scintiphotography alone (0.88 vs. 0.79). Radionuclide imaging and radiography should therefore always be done and interpreted simultaneously. Radionuclide imaging is mandatory to confirm or to rule out inflammatory joint disorder in case of an inconclusive x-ray (absence of erosions or degenerative changes). A negative radionuclide study rules out inflammation, even when juxta-articular demineralisation is suspected on the x-ray.