REVERSIBLE FINDINGS OF METHYLENE DIPHOSPHONATE BONE-SCINTIGRAPHY IN RAYNAUDS-PHENOMENON - CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

A 53-year-old woman with carcinoma of the right breast, spinal metasta ses and right arm lymphoedema was referred for bone scintigraphy prior to commencement of chemotherapy. The patient arrived in the departmen t complaining of pain in the left hand, which appeared red and slightl y swollen. Bone scintigraphy revealed increased tracer uptake in the f irst four metacarpal and all the carpal bones of the left hand. A repe at three-phase bone scintigram, performed 1 week later when the patien t was asymptomatic, showed equal blood flow to both hands with normal blood pool and uptake in bone images. The case demonstrates a state of reversibly increased bone uptake in a patient injected at the time of an episode of Raynaud's phenomenon and the possible implications for scan interpretation.