Failure of technetium-99m sulfur colloid uptake by the femoral head. Aseptic necrosis or normal variation?
The hips of 79 asymptomatic patients having Tc-99m sulfur colloid liver/spleen scans were imaged. Patients were not studied if they had a disease associated with nonvisualization of the femoral heads. The first group consisted of 47 consecutive patients who were imaged in a neutral position. Eighteen right and 18 (38.3%) left hips showed no activity. The second group consisted of 32 consecutive patients who were imaged in an internally rotated position. Seven (21.9%) right and nine (28.1%) left hips showed no activity. This study concludes that failure of uptake of Tc-99m sulfur colloid by the femoral head is seen in a sufficiently large group of patients to limit its use in diagnosing aseptic necrosis.
D005270:Femur Head / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005271:Femur Head Necrosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013154:Spleen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid
D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid