From the Guidelines
Sensitivity of Gallium and Bone Scans
The sensitivity of Gallium scans is approximately 73% while bone scans have a sensitivity of around 78-83% 1.
- For detecting suspected spine infection, a Gallium-67 citrate scan has a sensitivity of 73% 1, whereas a bone scan using Technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate (Tc-99m MDP) has a sensitivity of 78% 1.
- In the setting of osteomyelitis, a three-phase bone scan has a sensitivity of 83% 1, which is higher than that of a Gallium scan.
- It's worth noting that the sensitivity of these scans can vary depending on the specific clinical context and the presence of other factors such as prior surgery or trauma 1.
- A combined examination of Gallium-67 citrate and Tc-99m-MDP can improve the overall specificity of the examination to 81% while maintaining a sensitivity of 78% 1.
From the FDA Drug Label
CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY Gallium Citrate Ga 67, with no carrier added, has been found to concentrate in certain viable primary and metastatic tumors as well as focal sites of infection. The sensitivity of Gallium (Ga) scans and bone scans is not directly stated in the provided drug label.
- The label discusses the concentration of Gallium Ga-67 in various tissues and its excretion, but does not provide information on the sensitivity of the scans. 2
From the Research
Sensitivity of Gallium (Ga) Scans
- The sensitivity of Gallium (Ga) scans for detecting osteomyelitis was found to be 91% in a study published in 2000 3.
- Another study published in 1996 found that the combined In-111 WBC/Tc-99m MDP scan, which includes a Ga scan, had a sensitivity of 86% for detecting osteomyelitis 4.
Sensitivity of Bone Scans
- A study published in 2000 found that the sensitivity of bone scans for detecting spinal osteomyelitis was 71% when using SPECT imaging 3.
- Another study published in 1985 found that the sensitivity of four-phase bone imaging for diagnosing osteomyelitis was 80%, while the sensitivity of three-phase bone imaging was 100% 5.
- A study published in 1989 found that the sensitivity of bone scans alone for detecting osteomyelitis of the foot was 100% 6.
- A systematic review published in 2019 found that the sensitivity of bone scans for detecting osteomyelitis was generally inferior to that of MRI, PET, and SPECT, with a sensitivity of 83.6% 7.
Comparison of Ga Scans and Bone Scans
- A study published in 2000 found that SPECT Ga-67 scans were as accurate as SPECT bone/Ga-67 scans and as sensitive as MRI for detecting spinal osteomyelitis 3.
- Another study published in 1989 found that correlating bone and indium-111 leukocyte scans yielded a sensitivity of 100% with a specificity of 81% for detecting osteomyelitis of the foot, which was higher than the sensitivity and specificity of bone scans alone 6.