Few studies have used 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in conjunction with computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) to customize patient evaluation and identify locations of more active illness in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA). For a study, researchers sought to assess the efficacy of 18F-FDG PET/CT in late acquisition in detecting active disease areas in patients receiving complete therapy for TA. Patients undergoing complete therapy underwent whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT in this cross-sectional investigation. Sites exhibiting enhanced 18F-FDG uptake were assigned a score of 3 on a visual scale, with liver uptake serving as a reference. A quantitative examination was also carried out, with the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of the vascular wall of the afflicted arteries being measured. Disease activity was also assessed using National Institutes of Health standards.
There were 18 female and 2 male patients among the 20 patients, with a mean age of 43.6 (11.58) and a disease duration of 8.3 (6.25) years. According to the National Institutes of Health standards, thirteen subjects (65%) were engaged in inflammatory activity. All of the patients were given immunosuppressive medications, and one of them was given immunobiological therapy. The aortic arch had the greatest SUV value of 6.2, while the subclavian artery had the lowest at 1.0. The mean maximum SUV did not differ between individuals who were clinically active and those who were not. All subjects had at least one vascular location with inflammatory activity, with an uptake of 2 in respect to the liver, according to the visual analysis. The most often affected site was the aortic arch. The study showed that late acquisition 18F-FDG PET/CT was a viable imaging tool for assessing TA activity even in completely treated patients.
Source:journals.lww.com/jclinrheum/Fulltext/2022/01000/18F_FDG_PET_CT_in_Late_Acquisition_Identifies.3.aspx
