title: False positive indium-111 white blood cell scan in a closed clavicle fracture.
abstract: Aggressive treatment of the multiply injured patient often requires early fixation of many fractures, some of which may be open. Often, patients develop postoperative fevers requiring a thorough workup to rule out infection. Recently, indium-111 white blood cell (WBC) imaging has become a valuable adjunct in the diagnosis of acute infection. The patient described had a simple, closed clavicle fracture with markedly increased activity on an indium-111 WBC scan obtained for fever workup. This subsequently proved to be a normal, healing, noninfected fracture by other diagnostic techniques. Noninfected, simple closed fractures should be added to the list of causes for a false-positive indium-111 WBC scan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gordon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002968:Clavicle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000382:microbiology; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D005596:Fractures, Closed / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007205:Indium Radioisotopes; D007962:Leukocytes; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
chemical_list: D007205:Indium Radioisotopes