Case Report

Volume: 4 | Issue: 10 | Published: Oct 28, 2020 | Pages: 343 - 346 | DOI: 10.24911/ejmcr/173-1588736309

Avascular necrosis of head of femur mimicking skeletal metastasis on 99mTc MDP bone scintigraphy - a rare case report


Authors: Muhammad Iqbal , Muhammad Naeem , Zahra Ahmed , Syeda Hadia Najam , Muhammad Shahzad Afzal , Muhammad Babar Imran


Article Info

Authors

Muhammad Iqbal

Department of Nuclear Medicine, PINUM Cancer Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Muhammad Naeem

Department of Surgery, PINUM Cancer Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Zahra Ahmed

Department of Nuclear Medicine, PINUM Cancer Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Syeda Hadia Najam

Department of Nuclear Medicine, PINUM Cancer Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Muhammad Shahzad Afzal

Department of Nuclear Medicine, PINUM Cancer Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Muhammad Babar Imran

Department of Nuclear Medicine, PINUM Cancer Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Publication History

Received: May 06, 2020

Accepted: July 01, 2020

Published: October 28, 2020


Abstract


Background: 99mTc-Methylene diphosphonate (MDP) bone scan of a patient with known breast carcinoma showed a solitary osteoblastic lesion in the femoral head. Solitary bone metastatic lesion and a benign cause-like remodeling phase of avascular necrosis (AVN) were the top most differential diagnoses and therefore can easily be misinterpreted for each other. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered as the gold standard for diagnosis of AVN and can help in differentiation between AVN and skeletal metastasis. Case Presentation: A 40-year-old female patient of right breast carcinoma, treated with mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy underwent 99mTc-MDP bone scintigraphy for pain in left hip with restricted movements. The bone scan showed focal uptake in the head of left femur with suspicion of AVN, which turned out to be a metastatic lesion on MRI. Later on, longitudinal follow-up of bone scan after 1 year showed a lesion in the left femoral head extending up to the trochanteric region with additional new lesions confirming skeletal metastasis. Conclusion: Solitary skeletal metastatic lesion in the head of femur is a rare finding, although in the presence of local symptoms AVN always remains at the top of the list for differential diagnosis of solitary osteoblastic focus in the femoral head. Bone scan is a primary tool for skeletal metastatic survey due to high sensitivity but due to low pathognomonic specificity, additional imaging with MRI must be considered as a safe, non-invasive, and easily available option for further characterization of solitary lesions.

Keywords: 99mTc-MDP bone scan, AVN, bone metastasis, MRI, case report, green


Pubmed Style

Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Naeem, Zahra Ahmed, Syeda Hadia Najam, Muhammad Shahzad Afzal, Muhammad Babar Imran. Avascular necrosis of head of femur mimicking skeletal metastasis on 99mTc MDP bone scintigraphy - a rare case report. EJMCR. 2020; 28 (October 2020): 343-346. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1588736309

Web Style

Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Naeem, Zahra Ahmed, Syeda Hadia Najam, Muhammad Shahzad Afzal, Muhammad Babar Imran. Avascular necrosis of head of femur mimicking skeletal metastasis on 99mTc MDP bone scintigraphy - a rare case report. https://ejmcr.com/articles/1384 [Access: December 25, 2024]. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1588736309

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Naeem, Zahra Ahmed, Syeda Hadia Najam, Muhammad Shahzad Afzal, Muhammad Babar Imran. Avascular necrosis of head of femur mimicking skeletal metastasis on 99mTc MDP bone scintigraphy - a rare case report. EJMCR. 2020; 28 (October 2020): 343-346. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1588736309

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Naeem, Zahra Ahmed, Syeda Hadia Najam, Muhammad Shahzad Afzal, Muhammad Babar Imran. Avascular necrosis of head of femur mimicking skeletal metastasis on 99mTc MDP bone scintigraphy - a rare case report. EJMCR. (2020), [cited December 25, 2024]; 28 (October 2020): 343-346. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1588736309

Harvard Style

Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Naeem, Zahra Ahmed, Syeda Hadia Najam, Muhammad Shahzad Afzal, Muhammad Babar Imran (2020) Avascular necrosis of head of femur mimicking skeletal metastasis on 99mTc MDP bone scintigraphy - a rare case report. EJMCR, 28 (October 2020): 343-346. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1588736309

Chicago Style

Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Naeem, Zahra Ahmed, Syeda Hadia Najam, Muhammad Shahzad Afzal, Muhammad Babar Imran. "Avascular necrosis of head of femur mimicking skeletal metastasis on 99mTc MDP bone scintigraphy - a rare case report." 28 (2020), 343-346. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1588736309

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Naeem, Zahra Ahmed, Syeda Hadia Najam, Muhammad Shahzad Afzal, Muhammad Babar Imran. "Avascular necrosis of head of femur mimicking skeletal metastasis on 99mTc MDP bone scintigraphy - a rare case report." 28.October 2020 (2020), 343-346. Print. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1588736309

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Naeem, Zahra Ahmed, Syeda Hadia Najam, Muhammad Shahzad Afzal, Muhammad Babar Imran (2020) Avascular necrosis of head of femur mimicking skeletal metastasis on 99mTc MDP bone scintigraphy - a rare case report. , 28 (October 2020), 343-346. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1588736309