Role of scintigraphy in inflammatory bowel disease

The diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) depends on direct endoscopic visualization of the colonic and ileal mucosa and the histological study of the obtained samples. Radiological and scintigraphic methods are mainly used as an adjunct to endoscopy. In this review, we focus on the diagnostic potential of nuclear medicine procedures. The value of all radiotracers is described with special reference to those with greater experience and more satisfactory results. Tc-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime white blood cells remain a widely acceptable scintigraphic method for the diagnosis of IBD, as well as for the evaluation of disease extension and severity. Recently, pentavalent Tc-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid has been recommended as an accurate variant and a complementary technique to endoscopy for the follow-up and assessment of disease activity. Positron emission tomography alone or with computed tomography using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose appears to be a promising method of measuring inflammation in IBD patients. (C) 2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.