Comparison of technetium uptake in small joints with other indices of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis.

The uptake of 99mTc in the small joints of the hand has been compared to various other mesures of inflammation in 22 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The 99mTc uptake in the finger joints can reflect both disease activity at a given time and change in activity over a period of time. The place of Tc uptake amongst other measures of inflammation, from the point of view of the 'relative efficiency' of the assessment method, is rather inferior. In evaluating the effect of antiphlogistic drugs on local inflammation, techneticum uptake may, however, prove more discriminating than grip-strength or the number of painful joints, since the latter measures depend largely on the degree of destruction.