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Review
. 2023 Nov;27(11):729-735.
doi: 10.1007/s11916-023-01177-4. Epub 2023 Oct 14.

SPECT/CT Scan: A New Diagnostic Tool in Pain Medicine

James Pendleton  1 , Andrew Ng  2
Affiliations
Review

SPECT/CT Scan: A New Diagnostic Tool in Pain Medicine

James Pendleton et al. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Purpose of review: The purpose of this review is to evaluate the role of SPECT/CT in identifying facet joint arthropathy and the outcomes of interventions with SPECT/CT as an adjunct.

Recent findings: A positive finding of facet arthropathy on SPECT/CT is associated with a higher likelihood of a unilateral procedure and a significantly more effective intervention compared with those performed on patients with facet arthropathy diagnosed only by clinical and/or radiologic examination. Surgical treatment of SPECT/CT-positive findings appears to have a good effect; however, due to limitations in the available studies, no strong conclusion can be drawn. SPECT/CT has a good correlation identifying pain generators in chronic neck and back pain. SPECT/CT-targeted facet interventions demonstrate a higher success rate, but SPECT/CT is not recommended as a first-line diagnostic tool prior to diagnostic facet interventions. More robust studies are needed to confirm the higher success of surgical treatment for SPECT/CT-positive facet arthropathy.

Keywords: Bone scintigraphy; Facet joint arthropathy; Facet joint injection; SPECT/CT; Single-photon emission computed tomography; Spinal fusion.

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