The radionuclide diagnosis, evaluation and follow-up of malignant external otitis (MEO). The value of immediate blood pool scanning.

A patient suffering from malignant external otitis (MEO) underwent early blood pool scanning followed after 2 hours by 99m Tc MDP bone scanning and serial Ga-67 citrate scintigraphies of the skull. The former two procedures served as a diagnostic tool to MEO. The latter was used for estimating the extent of the infective process and for following-up the efficacy of treatment. The complementary role of these three procedures in the diagnosis and follow-up of MEO, with special emphasis on immediate blood pool scanning as part of the diagnostic procedure, is illustrated.