title: Skeletal scintigraphy with 18F-NaF PET for the evaluation of bone pain in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although not commonly used in current clinical practice, the PET agent (18)F-NaF provides an excellent alternative to the standard tracers used for radionuclide bone scintigraphy. This article illustrates the use and appearance of (18)F-NaF PET and shows examples of its utility in the assessment of bone pain in children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Skeletal imaging with (18)F-NaF harnesses both the superior imaging characteristics of PET and the improved biodistribution of the fluoride tracer in comparison with standard nuclear techniques, resulting in excellent-quality images that can effectively be used to investigate the cause of bone pain in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital, Boston, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. laura.drubach@childrens.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Drubach
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Connolly
authors.forename: Edwin L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Palmer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001416:Back Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D012969:Sodium Fluoride; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D012969:Sodium Fluoride