title: Case report: complete photopenia of the femoral head on radionuclide bone scanning in septic arthritis of the hip.
abstract: Three cases of septic arthritis of the hip are presented. In each case, radionuclide bone scanning, using 99Tcm diphosphonate (MDP), demonstrated complete photopenia of the femoral head. All three cases resulted in avascular necrosis and subsequently had a poor clinical outcome with a reduced range of movement and radiographic epiphyseal deformity. Complete photopenia in the presence of suspected sepsis requires urgent referral with a view to exploration and decompression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital, Alder Hey, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gash
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Carty
mesh_terms: D001170:Arthritis, Infectious / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002648:Child; D005270:Femur Head / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005271:Femur Head Necrosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011859:Radiography; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging