Use of (99m)Tc-sulesomab for the diagnosis of prosthesis infection after total joint arthroplasty

J Int Med Res. 2007 Jul-Aug;35(4):474-81. doi: 10.1177/147323000703500406.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of antigranulocyte scintigraphy using the antibody fragment (99m)Tc-sulesomab (LeukoScan) for the diagnosis of prosthesis infection in patients with total hip or knee arthroplasty. The results from 19 patients with suspected total joint arthroplasty infection who had undergone a three-phase bone scan and a subsequent examination with (99m)Tc-sulesomab during a 1-year period were reviewed. Twelve patients were shown to have prosthesis infection on culture of aspirated synovial fluid or intra-operative samples. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and diagnostic accuracy for (99m)Tc-sulesomab were 75%, 86%, 90%, 66% and 79%, respectively, compared with 54%, 83%, 88%, 45% and 63%, respectively, for the three-phase bone scan. This study showed that (99m)Tc-sulesomab had good diagnostic value for the detection of prosthesis infection. The combination of (99m)Tc-sulesomab with other laboratory or imaging examinations may improve diagnostic performance in prosthesis infection and should be investigated further.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal* / immunology
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
  • Arthroplasty, Replacement
  • Female
  • Hip Joint / diagnostic imaging
  • Hip Prosthesis / adverse effects*
  • Hospitals, Teaching
  • Humans
  • Knee Joint / diagnostic imaging
  • Knee Prosthesis / adverse effects*
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Prosthesis-Related Infections / diagnostic imaging*
  • Prosthesis-Related Infections / etiology
  • Prosthesis-Related Infections / pathology
  • Radiopharmaceuticals*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Technetium Tc 99m Medronate*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • Sulesomab
  • Technetium Tc 99m Medronate