Imaging of Infection in the Diabetic Foot

Information derived from imaging studies can play an important role in the management of complicated foot problems in a diabetic patient. This chapter reviews the various modalities available for the imaging of infection in the diabetic foot—radiography; nuclear medicine studies such as bone scans, labeled leukocyte scans, bone marrow scans, and flourine-18-flourodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG PET) scans; cross-sectional studies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MR spectroscopy, computed tomography (CT), and ultrasound—and highlights their relative strengths and weaknesses for the diagnosis of osteomyelitis, soft tissue infection, and neuroarthropathy. A suggested imaging algorithm for the diagnosis of osteomyelitis in the diabetic foot is presented.