Clinical utility of technetium-99m-labelled leukocyte scan in diagnosis of vascular infections. 2023

Leon Vasquez, and QiHao Ong, and Zubayr Zaman, and Berry Allen, and Manar Khashram
Department of Radiology, Waikato Hospital, Hamilton, New Zealand.

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of vascular graft infections and infected aneurysms via conventional methods such as computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) can often be challenging. Nuclear medicine imaging techniques can detect infection in these difficult cases. We aim to evaluate the diagnostic value of technetium-99m-labelled leukocyte scans in diagnosing vascular graft infections in our centre. METHODS There were 164 patient-scans identified over a 16-year period. The electronic clinical records, laboratory findings and radiology of these patients were reviewed. An adapted case definition of infection was defined using the criteria proposed by the Management of Aortic Graft Infection Collaboration. There were 43 patients identified to have vascular indications and had sufficient information to be divided into infected and non-infected groups. Imaging and reports of the leucocyte scans in these patients were analysed to calculate specificity and sensitivity. RESULTS Overall sensitivity of leucocyte scans to detect vascular infection was 78.1% and specificity of 81.8% with a positive likelihood ratio of 4.30 and negative likelihood ratio of 0.27. Two false positives in patients with aortic grafts; one patient possibly had concurrent gastrointestinal infection and continued antibiotic treatment. The other patient had persistent uptake around an endoleak and was treated with lifelong antibiotics for aortic vascular graft infection on the basis of the leucocyte scan; no other clinical or laboratory evidence was found to fulfil the case definition of the vascular graft infection. CONCLUSIONS Technetium-99m-labelled leukocyte scan can be a useful adjuvant test in diagnosing suspected vascular infections in this uncommon presentation.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007962 Leukocytes White blood cells. These include granular leukocytes (BASOPHILS; EOSINOPHILS; and NEUTROPHILS) as well as non-granular leukocytes (LYMPHOCYTES and MONOCYTES). Blood Cells, White,Blood Corpuscles, White,White Blood Cells,White Blood Corpuscles,Blood Cell, White,Blood Corpuscle, White,Corpuscle, White Blood,Corpuscles, White Blood,Leukocyte,White Blood Cell,White Blood Corpuscle
D011183 Postoperative Complications Pathologic processes that affect patients after a surgical procedure. They may or may not be related to the disease for which the surgery was done, and they may or may not be direct results of the surgery. Complication, Postoperative,Complications, Postoperative,Postoperative Complication
D001807 Blood Vessel Prosthesis Device constructed of either synthetic or biological material that is used for the repair of injured or diseased blood vessels. Vascular Prosthesis,Blood Vessel Prostheses,Tissue-Engineered Vascular Graft,Graft, Tissue-Engineered Vascular,Grafts, Tissue-Engineered Vascular,Prostheses, Blood Vessel,Prostheses, Vascular,Prosthesis, Blood Vessel,Prosthesis, Vascular,Tissue Engineered Vascular Graft,Tissue-Engineered Vascular Grafts,Vascular Graft, Tissue-Engineered,Vascular Grafts, Tissue-Engineered,Vascular Prostheses,Vessel Prostheses, Blood,Vessel Prosthesis, Blood
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012680 Sensitivity and Specificity Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed) Specificity,Sensitivity,Specificity and Sensitivity
D013667 Technetium The first artificially produced element and a radioactive fission product of URANIUM. Technetium has the atomic symbol Tc, and atomic number 43. All technetium isotopes are radioactive. Technetium 99m (m Technetium 99m,99m, Technetium
D014057 Tomography, X-Ray Computed Tomography using x-ray transmission and a computer algorithm to reconstruct the image. CAT Scan, X-Ray,CT Scan, X-Ray,Cine-CT,Computerized Tomography, X-Ray,Electron Beam Computed Tomography,Tomodensitometry,Tomography, Transmission Computed,X-Ray Tomography, Computed,CAT Scan, X Ray,CT X Ray,Computed Tomography, X-Ray,Computed X Ray Tomography,Computerized Tomography, X Ray,Electron Beam Tomography,Tomography, X Ray Computed,Tomography, X-Ray Computer Assisted,Tomography, X-Ray Computerized,Tomography, X-Ray Computerized Axial,Tomography, Xray Computed,X Ray Computerized Tomography,X Ray Tomography, Computed,X-Ray Computer Assisted Tomography,X-Ray Computerized Axial Tomography,Beam Tomography, Electron,CAT Scans, X-Ray,CT Scan, X Ray,CT Scans, X-Ray,CT X Rays,Cine CT,Computed Tomography, Transmission,Computed Tomography, X Ray,Computed Tomography, Xray,Computed X-Ray Tomography,Scan, X-Ray CAT,Scan, X-Ray CT,Scans, X-Ray CAT,Scans, X-Ray CT,Tomographies, Computed X-Ray,Tomography, Computed X-Ray,Tomography, Electron Beam,Tomography, X Ray Computer Assisted,Tomography, X Ray Computerized,Tomography, X Ray Computerized Axial,Transmission Computed Tomography,X Ray Computer Assisted Tomography,X Ray Computerized Axial Tomography,X Ray, CT,X Rays, CT,X-Ray CAT Scan,X-Ray CAT Scans,X-Ray CT Scan,X-Ray CT Scans,X-Ray Computed Tomography,X-Ray Computerized Tomography,Xray Computed Tomography
D019275 Radiopharmaceuticals Compounds that are used in medicine as sources of radiation for radiotherapy and for diagnostic purposes. They have numerous uses in research and industry. (Martindale, The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed, p1161) Radiopharmaceutical

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