99mTc-Interleukin-8 for Imaging Acute

Early and accurate diagnosis of osteomyelitis remains a clinical problem. Acute osteomyelitis often occurs in infants and most often is located in the long bones. Radiologic images show changes only in advanced stages of disease. Scintigraphic im-aging with 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate (MDP), or bone scanning, is much more sensitive in detecting acute osteomy-elitis but lacks specificity. We evaluated the performance of 99mTc-interleukin-8 (IL-8) in an experimental model of acute osteomyelitis. Methods: Acute pyogenic osteomyelitis was in-duced in 10 rabbits by inserting sodium morrhuate and Staph-ylococcus aureus into the medullary cavity of the right femur. The cavity was closed with liquid cement. A sham operation was performed on the left femur. Routine radiographs were obtained just before scintigraphy. Ten days after surgery, the rabbits were divided into 2 groups of 5 animals, received an injection o