PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - In-Ho Song
AU  - Henning Brandt
AU  - Martin Rudwaleit
AU  - Joachim Sieper
TI  - Limited Diagnostic Value of Unilateral Sacroiliitis in Scintigraphy in Assessing Axial Spondyloarthritis
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.091216
DP  - 2010 Apr 15
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - jrheum.091216
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2010/04/14/jrheum.091216.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2010/04/14/jrheum.091216.full
AB  - Objective To assess the diagnostic value for axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) of unilateral sacroiliitis in scintigraphy in daily clinical practice. Methods In 207 patients with chronic back pain, the diagnostic value of scintigraphy was assessed retrospectively. The diagnosis made by the rheumatologist (axial SpA vs no axial SpA) was the standard. Results Sensitivities of scintigraphy for any (unilateral or bilateral), bilateral, and isolated unilateral sacroiliitis were 64.9%, 40.2%, and 24.7%, respectively. Respective specificities were 50.5%, 57.7%, and 92.8%, resulting in likelihood ratios of 1.3, 1.0, and 3.4. Conclusion Scintigraphy of the sacroiliac joints is of limited value for the diagnosis of axial SpA. Unilateral compared to bilateral sacroiliitis is slightly superior, but is associated with a low sensitivity.