title: The role of bone scintigraphy in patients with Erdheim-Chester disease.
abstract: Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare disorder that has been reported fewer than 60 times in the literature. Although clinical findings seem to be specific at first sight, histologic classification remains unclear. It has not been decided whether ECD is part of the spectrum of histiocytoses or whether it may be a lipid storage disorder or even a primary macrophage cell disorder, although it does show a distinct histologic pattern. However, the clinical appearance alone shows several typical features, rendering the diagnosis very probable if present. This article illustrates the importance of bone scanning in ECD, because the scintigraphic pattern of involved skeletal sites may in themselves lead to the diagnosis. Several differential diagnoses are considered. The importance of bone scintigraphy as an imaging method in patients with an unclear diagnosis is discussed, as exemplary in ECD, as is its role for the detection of sites of skeletal involvement in other diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany. gotthard@mailer.uni-marburg.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gotthardt
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Welcke
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tontsch
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Barth
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hoeffken
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Joseph
mesh_terms: D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D005487:Foam Cells / Q000473:pathology; D006099:Granuloma / Q000175:diagnosis; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D015614:Histiocytosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D014973:Xanthomatosis / Q000175:diagnosis