[Leukocyte scintigraphy: clinical application to inflammatory diseases and bone marrow diseases]

111In or 99mTc-HMPAO labeled leukocyte scintigraphy has been shown to be useful in detection and diagnosis of infections and inflammatory lesions. Results from multiple retrospective series indicate that leukocyte scintigraphy achieves sensitivity and specificity of near 90% in abdominal abscess detection. 99mTc-HMPAO labeled leukocyte scintigraphy is now an accepted technique in the assessment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease and the diagnostic value of early 99mTc-HMPAO labeled leukocyte images has been discussed. It is known that 99mTc-HMPAO labeled leukocytes migrate to a large extent to the bone marrow. 99mTc-HMPAO labeled leukocytes may prove to be a practical agent for bone marrow imaging. In this report, definition, classification and pathological consideration of inflammation, and history, diagnostic efficacy and consideration for clinical application of inflammation scintigraphy are reviewed.