99mTc-ciprofloxacin in imaging of clinical infections in camelids and a goat

99(m)Tc-ciprofloxacin was used to image five adult camelids and a juvenile goat with clinical and/or radiographic signs of infection. 99(m)Tc-ciprofloxacin (range 10-33 MBq/kg) was injected intravenously and a series of 2-min static images were acquired at 1- and 4-h postinjection. At 24-h postinjection, 5-min static images were acquired. Only the skull or abdomen was imaged in the adults; the whole body was imaged in the goat. The quality of the 1-, 4-, and 24-h studies was evaluated subjectively. Normal and abnormal areas of 99(m)Tc-ciprofloxacin uptake were recorded and subjectively graded as mild, moderate or intense. Image quality was best 4-h postinjection. Twenty-four-hour images were poor because of insufficient radioactivity. 99mTc-ciprofloxacin imaging resulted in true positive or true negative scans in four of six animals. Two false-negative studies occurred. Intense 99(m)Tc-ciprofloxacin activity was seen in the lungs and urinary bladder, moderate/intense activity in the kidneys, and mild activity in the physes/epiphyses, liver and intermittently in the gastrointestinal tract. The normal distribution of 99(m)Tc-ciprofloxacin in camelids/small ruminants differed from people. Further studies to determine the sensitivity and specificity of infection detection using Tc-99m-ciprofloxacin in animals are warranted.