We reviewed the technetium phosphate scans of 280 patients who had been
referred with a clinical diagnosis of osteomyelitis in order to establish
the diagnostic accuracy of this procedure. Strict criteria were established
to define two subgroups: one of patients with proved osteomyelitis and one
of patients who definitely did not have osteomyelitis. The scan correctly
identified osteomyelitis at fifty-five of sixty-two sites, and was
correctly negative in seventy-four of seventy-nine patients without
osteomyelitis. The scan correctly distinguished all cases of cellulitis or
soft-tissue abscess from osteomyelitis, but identified osteomyelitis in
eight of thirty-nine patients with septic arthritis. The phosphate bone
scan maintained this accuracy through any duration of symptoms, and
performed almost equally well at all skeletal sites and in all age
groups.