Indium-111 monoclonal anti-myosin antibody in assessing skeletal muscle damage in trauma.

Accurate assessment of the severity of soft tissue damage particularly skeletal muscle associated with fractures in trauma patients is important in determining the plan of management and prognosis. We used Indium-111 labelled anti-myosin to determine the extent of skeletal muscle injury in five patients involved in traumatic accidents. We found abnormal uptake in all 20 sites of muscle injury in four patients, 13 at the sites of fractures and seven away from fracture sites. There was good correlation between the degree of uptake and the extent of muscle injury. No uptake was seen in a case with no fracture and no muscle injury. At surgery this case proved to be haemarthrosis of the left knee. Indium-111 anti-myosin scanning is a potentially sensitive and useful technique in assessing extent of acute muscle injury in trauma patients.