Osteoid osteoma: multimodality imaging with focus on hybrid imaging

Osteoid osteoma is a painful, benign, osteoblastic lesion that occurs in younger patients and affects the extremities or the axial skeleton. While plain film findings may suggest the diagnosis, in complex anatomical regions such as the spine, pelvis, wrist and foot advanced imaging modalities are often required. A typical nidus surrounded by sclerosis or cortical thickening characterizes osteoid osteoma on plain radiography and CT. MR is the cross-sectional imaging modality of choice for most musculoskeletal disorders. Unfortunately, extensive accompanying bone marrow oedema, soft-tissue alterations, difficulty detecting the nidus, and lesion locations close to a joint (with reactive arthritis) may make a confident diagnosis of osteoid osteoma by MR imaging difficult. Hybrid imaging with bone-seeking tracers such as SPECT/CT with ^99mTc-labelled bisphosphonates or PET/CT with ¹⁸F-labelled sodium fluoride (¹⁸F-NaF) combines high radionuclide uptake with morphological details and provides accurate diagnosis of osteoid osteoma and additional information for treatment planning. FDG is not the recommended PET tracer because osteoid osteoma is normally FDG-negative, although some osteoid osteomas may show increased FDG uptake. Osteoblastoma, Brodie’s abscess and stress fractures may mimic osteoid osteoma on imaging and clinical presentation. Once identified as the pain generator, destruction of the osteoid osteoma nidus by ablation or resection techniques usually leads to complete healing. Image-guided drill excision and radiofrequency ablation are widely used interventions. We review the presentation of osteoid osteoma across all imaging modalities, with special focus on hybrid imaging techniques.