Radionuclide imaging of the neck in rheumatoid arthritis.

Blind marking was used to assess radionuclide neck images obtained with technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate in 28 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 12 with cervical degenerative joint disease (spondylosis). Eleven out of the 16 rheumatoid arthritis patients who had neck pain when imaged showed enhanced uptake in the region of the atlantoaxial and temporomandibular joints. In contrast, no patient with cervical spondylosis and only one rheumatoid arthritis patient without neck pain had high uptake in either joint. Changes in uptake in this region on repeat imaging correlated significantly (P less than 0.01) with changes in pain. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, with or without neck pain, and with cervical spondylosis showed similar patterns of radiological abnormality in the cervical spine. No detailed correlation was detected between radionuclide and radiographic findings. Radionuclide abnormalities were seen in the middle and lower cervical spine in both rheumatoid arthritis and cervical spondylosis. An abnormal radionuclide image of the middle or lower neck is thus of little value except when no degenerative change is present on the radiograph. An abnormal radionuclide image of the upper neck may be a useful indication of inflammation.