[The utility of three-phase bone scintigraphy in the assessment of fractured carpal scaphoid].

Thirty-seven joints in 36 patients with a fractured carpal scaphoid were evaluated by three-phase bone scintigraphy. They were classified into two groups according to their progress. Some were in good clinical condition and some in a non-union condition. Increased blood flow in the radial arteries and ample perfusion on and around the scaphoid bones on blood flow images suggested a good clinical course. The activity and the effectiveness of remodeling correlated well with the degree of scaphoid uptake on blood pool images taken more than seven days after the injury. Scaphoid uptake was more localized or there was almost none on blood pool images in cases with nearly complete recovery while it was amply visualized on static images. Blood pool images were indispensable for analyzing lesions and evaluating the clinical course. Two typical findings of scaphoid fractures were found on both blood pool and static images. One was diffusely increased scaphoid uptake seen in cases with a good clinical course, and the other was decreased uptake at proximal fragments seen in cases with non-union. It is concluded that three-phase bone scintigraphy provides useful information for evaluating the process of scaphoid fractures which cannot be obtained by means of conventional bone scintigraphy.