Year: 2021
Type: review
Abstract: The rise of NaF-PET and its combination with CT and MR present new opportunities to assess benign musculoskeletal disorders with a greater sensitivity compared with conventional approaches. In particular, conditions affecting the skeleton and joints stand to benefit greatly from PET findings that would otherwise be missed on conventional radiographs, BS, CT, or MR. As a result, previously undetermined causes of bone pain may be elucidated, and sites of occult traumatic injury could be discovered, findings that have important implications for patient care. In addition to its diagnostic role, NaF-PET can be used to evaluate pharmacologic and surgical interventions designed to treat osseous structures. Orthopedic surgeons in particular are faced with managing complications that can be better characterized by NaF-PET than with other modalities. Moreover, drugs such as teriparatide and bisphosphonates cause direct changes in NaF activity before the effects are evident by any other means. As clinicians continue to gain a better understanding of this modality, its future role in other bone and soft tissue disorders is still undetermined, and large-scale prospective studies are warranted to investigate its utility.
Source: PET Clinics
Language: English
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,400
OpenAlex ID: W3130179702