¹¹¹In-Leukocyte Scintigraphy in the Diagnosis of Vascular Graft Infection

Abstract

Infection at the site of a vascular graft is a serious complication in vascular surgery especially when synthetic materials have been used (1). Prosthetic grafts are widely employed in aorto-iliac, aorto-femoral and femoro-popliteal bypasses. X-ray investigation, angiography, ultrasound and computer tomography are of limited value in the diagnosis of graft infection (2,3,4). Delay in diagnosis and treatment of this complication results in a high morbidity and mortality. Some reports are available on the use of ⁶⁷Ga-citrate scintigraphy (3), however its accumulation in normal intestinal structures is a serious drawback. We investigated the effectiveness of ¹¹¹1n-leukocytes scintigraphy in the diagnosis of vascular graft infection. The possible accumulation of labelled leukocytes was assessed both subjectively by visual interpretation and quantitatively by computer evaluation.