[Chronic schizophrenia: validity of the study of regional cerebral blood flow through cerebral SPECT].
OBJECTIVE
To check the validity of the diagnostic test in schizophrenia.


METHODS
The cerebral blood flow (CBF) characteristics were assessed by means of single photon emission tomography (SPECT) in 24 patients with schizophrenia and 20 normal control subjects. Analysis of sensitivity, specificity and the Youden rate was made of certain RCBF patterns chosen in terms of the cerebral regions between which the greatest differences were observed according to the diagnosis, schizophrenia vs control.


RESULTS
Schizophrenia vs control: sensitivity = 58.33%; specificity = 95%; positive predictive value = 93.33% and overall efficiency = 53.33%.


CONCLUSIONS
Cerebral SPECT is valid in the discrimination between patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and control subjects, taking the diagnostic judgement of the psychiatrist as the gold standard, and the RCBF pattern that displays the best coefficient is hypoperfusion, in one or several of the regions: right frontal/left frontal/right parietal/thalamus: sensitivity = 58.33%; specificity = 95%; positive predictive value = 93.33% and overall efficiency = 53.33%.
Ceballos
C
C
Departamento de Radioelectrología y Medicina Nuclear, Hospital Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, España.
Baringo
T
T
Carrero
P
P
Ventura
T
T
Pelegrín
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon