[Osteoscintigraphy in the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis]

The authors presented the results of clinical, x-ray and osteoscintigraphic investigations of 133 psoriatic arthritis patients and 72 patients with common psoriasis. Osteoscintigraphy was performed using a routine method with 99mTc-pyrophos (USSR) and 99mTc-phosphone (Hungary) on gamma-camera LFOV (Nuclear-Chicago, USA). X-ray signs of the involvement of the osteoarticular system were noted in 69 (51%) patients with psoriatic arthritis and in 16 (22%) patients with common psoriasis. The method permitted the detection of the foci of RP hyperfixation in 129 (97%) patients with psoriatic arthritis and in 51 (70.8%) patients with common psoriasis. They were observed mostly in large and small limb joints, less frequently--in the vertebral column, cranial bones, thorax, and ribs. Thus, osteoscintigraphy is a highly sensitive method for the detection of active inflammatory foci of the osteoarticular system in psoriasis at all stages of arthritis development. It makes it possible to detect the spreading of arthritis and its preclinical forms.