Use of positron emission tomography (PET) for the diagnosis of large-vessel vasculitis.

J Loricera, R Blanco, J L Hernández, I Martínez-Rodríguez, J M Carril, C Lavado, M Jiménez, C González-Vela, M Á González-Gay

Journal: Revista espanola de medicina nuclear e imagen molecular 2017;34(6):372-7

PMID: 26272121

Full Text on Ediciones Doyma, S.L. View on PubMed

Abstract

The term vasculitis encompasses a heterogeneous group of diseases that share the presence of inflammatory infiltrates in the vascular wall. The diagnosis of large-vessel vasculitis is often a challenge because the presenting clinical features are nonspecific in many cases and they are often shared by different types of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases including other systemic vasculitides. Moreover, the pathogenesis of large-vessel vasculitis is not fully understood. Nevertheless, the advent of new imaging techniques has constituted a major breakthrough to establish an early diagnosis and a promising tool to monitor the follow-up of patients with largevessel vasculitis. This is the case of the molecular imaging with the combination of positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) using different radiotracers, especially the (18)F-fluordeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG). In this review we have focused on the contribution of (18)F-FDG PET in the diagnosis of large-vessel vasculitis.

Address: Division of Rheumatology, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, IDIVAL, Santander, Spain.; Division of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, IDIVAL, Santander, Spain.; Division of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, IDIVAL, Santander, Spain.; Division of Pathology, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, IDIVAL, Santander, Spain.; Division of Rheumatology, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, IDIVAL, Santander, Spain. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.remn.2015.07.002

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MeSH Terms: Aortitis, Autoimmune Diseases, Colitis, Ulcerative, Female, Fluorine Radioisotopes, Fluorodeoxyglucose F18, Giant Cell Arteritis, Humans, Male, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography, Positron-Emission Tomography, Radiopharmaceuticals, Sarcoidosis, Sensitivity and Specificity, Takayasu Arteritis, Vasculitis