Open AccessBone scintigraphy in patients with pain
Author(s) -
Seunghyeon Shin,
Seong Jang Kim
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the korean journal of pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.527
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2093-0569
pISSN - 2005-9159
DOI - 10.3344/kjp.2017.30.3.165
Subject(s) - medicine , bone scintigraphy , magnetic resonance imaging , scintigraphy , radiology , asymptomatic , complex regional pain syndrome , vasomotor , physical therapy , surgery , anesthesia
Nuclear medicine imaging is widely used in pain medicine. Low back pain is commonly encountered by physicians, with its prevalence from 49% to 70%. Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are usually used to evaluate the cause of low back pain, however, these findings from these scans could also be observed in asymptomatic patients. Bone scintigraphy has an additional value in patients with low back pain. Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is defined as a painful disorder of the extremities, which is characterized by sensory, autonomic, vasomotor, and trophic disturbances. To assist the diagnosis of CRPS, three-phase bone scintigraphy is thought to be superior compared to other modalities, and could be used to rule out CRPS due to its high specificity. Studies regarding the effect of bone scintigraphy in patients with extremity pain have not been widely conducted. Ultrasound, CT and MRI are widely used imaging modalities for evaluating extremity pain. However, SPECT/CT has an additional role in assessing pain in the extremities.