Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 1, 2026
Fluorescence-mediated Tomography for the Detection and Quantification of Macrophage-related Murine Intestinal Inflammation
Published on: December 15, 2017
Detection of inflammatory bowel disease in pediatric patients with technetium-99m-HMPAO-labeled leukocytes
M Charron1, S R Orenstein, S Bhargava
1Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
Insights
Technetium-99m-HMPAO-labeled leukocyte imaging effectively detects and characterizes inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children. This diagnostic tool offers excellent sensitivity and specificity for identifying IBD activity and differentiating between ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Diagnostic Imaging
- Nuclear Medicine
Background:
- Technetium-99m-HMPAO-labeled leukocyte imaging is established for adult inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) assessment.
- Its utility in pediatric IBD patients remains understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of 99mTc-HMPAO-labeled leukocyte imaging in diagnosing pediatric IBD.
- To assess the technique's ability to detect, localize, and characterize IBD in children.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 21 children, including 16 with active IBD and 5 controls.
- Utilized 99mTc-HMPAO-labeled leukocyte scintigraphy with specific imaging views (TOD and anterior standing abdomen).
Main Results:
- Demonstrated excellent sensitivity and specificity for detecting active bowel inflammation in children.
- Facilitated straightforward image interpretation due to high uptake intensity.
- Successfully differentiated ulcerative colitis (rectosigmoid disease) from Crohn's disease (discontinuous small bowel activity).
Conclusions:
- 99mTc-HMPAO-labeled leukocyte scintigraphy is an excellent diagnostic technique for pediatric IBD.
- The imaging modality allows for accurate detection, localization, and characterization of IBD in children.
Unlabelled:
Technetium-99m-HMPAO-labeled leukocyte imaging is now an accepted technique in the assessment of adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but its role in pediatric patients has not been studied.
Methods:
We evaluated the efficacy of 99mTc-HMPAO-labeled leukocyte imaging in 21 children. We studied 16 children with active IBD (4 ulcerative colitis, 10 Crohn's disease, 1 indeterminate colitis, 1 C-difficile) and 5 controls.
Results:
The sensitivity and specificity for active bowel inflammation were excellent. The intensity of uptake noted in most patients rendered image interpretation easy and straightforward. The inclusion of a tail on detector (TOD) view and anterior standing view of the abdomen is important. All patients with ulcerative colitis showed rectosigmoid disease and no small bowel activity, whereas, all patients with Crohn's disease showed discontinuous uptake and often small bowel activity. It was therefore possible to differentiate ulcerative colitis from Crohn's disease on the basis of location and distribution.
Conclusion:
The 99mTc-HMPAO-labeled leukocyte scan is an excellent technique for the detection, localization and characterization of IBD in children.
More Related Videos
05:45Diagnosis of Hirschsprung's Disease by Immunostaining Rectal Suction Biopsies for Calretinin, S100 Protein and Protein Gene Product 9.5
Published on: April 26, 2019
05:56Implementation of Non-invasive Point of Care Transient Elastography for Evaluation of Liver Disease in Pediatric Populations with Cystic Fibrosis
Published on: August 29, 2025
