Bone scanning and photon absorptiometry in metabolic bone disease

Interexaminer comparison of bone scintigraphy and panoramic radiography of temporomandibular joints: correlation with signs and symptoms

Panoramic radiographs of the temporomandibular joints of patients with orofacial pain were examined for evidence of pathology by three different groups of four dental specialists and by a group of four general dentists. Bone scans of the same joints were used as the "gold standard" for identification of disorder and indicated a low rate of correct readings by the four professional groups. When the symptomatic side of the complaint was used as the gold standard, there was no statistically significant association with the bone scan observations. Comparative analysis of other patient symptoms showed little agreement with panoramic radiographs and scintigraphs. Reliability estimates may be highly variable, even among clinical experts. These results show that neither radiologic technique would be definitive for diagnosis of TM disorders.

The value of bone scintigraphy in the follow-up of vertebral osteoporosis

In an open study, we have assessed the bone/soft tissue uptake index in recent osteoporotic vertebral collapse using scintigraphy. The evolution of these cases was followed-up at 6 months in 22 patients treated with 100 IU of salmon calcitonin plus 500 mg of elemental calcium/10 days per month and in 18 patients treated with 500 mg of elemental calcium only on a daily basis. There were no index differences between groups prior to treatment. At six months, the group treated with calcitonin plus calcium showed a significant decrease from 10.2 +/- 6.4 to 3.2 +/- 1.1 (p less than 0.001), while the calcium only group did not show any significant changes (12.1 +/- 6.6 vs 9.2 +/- 4.6), considering that there were significant differences between groups (p less than 0.001). On a mid-term basis, these results have shown the values of the bone/soft tissue index in the follow-up of osteoporotic vertebral collapse.