Imaging of periprosthetic knee infection (infected knee prostheses/arthroplasty)

What is it about?

Nuclear imaging in the evaluation of infected knee prostheses (arthroplasty) including bone scintigraphy (bone scans), leukocyte scintigraphy, antigranulocyte scintigraphy, FDG-PET and combined techniques (bone-leukocyte scintigraphy, leukocyte-bone marrow scintigraphy.

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Why is it important?

We compared all imaging techniques in order to determine the most sensitive and specific imaging modalities in the evaluation of infected knee prostheses. Our meta-analysis demonstrated that combined leukocyte and bone marrow scintigraphy and antigranulocyte scintigraphy were highly specific techniques to confirm periprosthetic knee infection. When other diagnostic tests are inconclusive, these imaging techniques can contribute in the evaluation of a suspected total knee arthroplasty (especially in case of an low-grade infection).