Gallium-67 for Localization of Septic Lesions

Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the radionuclide (indium)-labeled leukocyte scan

“…The gallium scan, one of the first of the widely used scanning techniques, was originally reported to have remarkably high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of infection. 2,3 It was clear, however, that gallium accumulates not only in abscesses but also in any area of inflammation, in certain tumors and in the gastrointestinal tract, and subsequent experience revealed numerous false positive and negative results. This technique was followed by the technetium bone scan which preferentially labels osteoblasts and might, therefore, indicate sites of infection in bone.…”

Synthesis, characterization, and structural studies of gallium citrate complexes

“…Thus, since the discovery that 67Ga localized in human soft tissue tumors (9) and also in inflammatory lesions (10,11) it has been extensively used in diagnostic nuclear medicine (12). In addition 68Ga has shown promise recently in positron emission tomography (PET) for medical diagnosis (13).…”

Biodistribution and Radiation Dosimetry of the Enterobacteriaceae-Specific Imaging Probe [18F]Fluorodeoxysorbitol Determined by PET/CT in Healthy Human Volunteers

“…This list includes [ 67 Ga] citrate [2], radiolabeled autologous leukocytes [3], radiolabeled antigranulocyte antibodies [4], radiolabeled cytokines [5], and [ 18 F]FDG [6], which were developed to describe the inflammation processes mainly by observing the nonspecific uptake mechanisms, such as blood supply expansion, vascular permeability increase, and inflammatory cell aggregation. The main disadvantage of these probes, however, is their inability to distinguish infection from sterile inflammation.…”