Gallium citrate Ga 67 scans in febrile patients

M. R. Habibian, E. V. Staab and H. A. Matthews

Scanning with gallium citrate Ga 67 is a sensitive technique for the detection of localized inflammatory disease. In a group of 22 febrile patients, 17 had one or more abnormal areas of radioactive gallium localization. Eight patients showed localized areas of inflammation; five showed no area of local inflammation within the field of the scan. The remaining patients had excellent clinical and laboratory confirmation of neoplastic or inflammatory disease. These cases illustrate the usefulness of radioactive gallium in febrile patients in whom the cause of the fever cannot be otherwise determined.