. 2017 Apr 27;44(8):1393–1407. doi: 10.1007/s00259-017-3683-7

Table 2.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1) The study must evaluate the accuracy of radiological and nuclear imaging modalities for diagnosing PTO.

2) The study group must be at least 10 patients of 18 years and older with (suspected) PTO. In case of a mixed population, the data for this subgroup must be available independently.

3) The studied location must be in the peripheral skeleton.

4) The study must use a valid reference test (osteomyelitis was proven histologically and/or bacteriologically, and/or there was a clinical follow-up of at least 6 months in which no signs or symptoms of chronic infection were described).

5) Studies must provide sufficient details to construct a 2 x 2 contingency table expressing the results of the index tests by the disease status.

6) The study must investigate a commonly used diagnostic imaging test for PTO. These are conventional X-ray, CT, MRI, WBC scintigraphy/AGA scintigraphy (+/- SPECT/CT), bone scintigraphy (+/- SPECT/CT) and FDG-PET (+/- CT).

Exclusion Criteria

1) Non-human studies.

2) Studies that investigate non-trauma-related osteomyelitis (such as osteomyelitis due to spondylodiscitis, diabetic feet, haematogenous dissemination and pressure ulcers).

3) Studies that investigate a not commonly used diagnostic imaging test [such as ^99mTc-ciprofloxacin (Infecton) scintigraphy or ⁶⁸Ga-citrate PET].