Indium-111-leukocyte imaging : A case of peritonitis mimicking inflammatory bowel disease

Leukocytes labeled with 99m Tc-HMPAO and 111 In have been used extensively in imaging inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which has the appearance of tubular bowel activity. Peritonitis is inflammation of the serosal surfaces lining the peritoneal cavity which envelopes the bowel, giving a pattern of diffuse abdominal uptake on imaging. We present a case of an elderly man with surgically and pathologically confirmed peritonitis whose preoperative leukocyte scan mimicked the findings of IBD. Our findings suggest that diffuse peritonitis can mimic IBD on an 111 In-leukocyte scan.