Concordance between abdominal scintigraphy using technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime-labelled leucocytes and ileocolonoscopy in patients with spondyloarthropathies and without clinical evidence of inflammatory bowel disease.
OBJECTIVE
To study the concordance between abdominal scintigraphy using technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO)-labelled leucocytes (ASTLL) and ileocolonoscopy in patients with spondyloarthropathies (SpA) and without clinical evidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).


METHODS
Fifteen patients with SpA (European Spondylarthropathy Study Group 1991 criteria) without clinical evidence of IBD were studied prospectively with ASTLL and ileocolonoscopy.


RESULTS
This cohort consisted of seven men and eight women aged 31.8+/-10.5 yr (18-47) [mean age +/- S.D. (range)] and with a disease duration of 6.0+/-4.4 yr (0.4-15). ASTLL showed abnormal uptake in four patients. Ileocolonoscopy was abnormal in five patients, showing acute inflammatory lesions in one patient with reactive arthritis, undifferentiated chronic inflammatory lesions in two cases, and features indistinguishable from those of Crohn's disease in two cases. ASTLL was negative in two cases in which ileocolonoscopy showed inflammatory lesions and was positive (terminal ileum) in one case with normal ileocolonoscopy. The concordance between the two examinations was statistically significant (kappa = 0.53; P = 0.008).


CONCLUSIONS
ASTLL may be an interesting tool to detect subclinical gut inflammation in patients with SpA.
El Maghraoui
A
A
Rheumatology B Department, Cochin Hospital, René Descartes University, Paris, France.
Dougados
M
M
Freneaux
E
E
Chaussade
S
S
Amor
B
B
Breban
M
M
D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D007962:Leukocytes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime
D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime