title: Clinical significance of abdominal scintigraphy using 99mTc-HMPAO-labelled leucocytes in patients with seronegative spondyloarthropathies.
abstract: Abdominal scintigraphy shows silent gut inflammation in patients with spondyloarthropathies (Sp) without clinical evidence of gut inflammation. Abdominal scintigraphy images are different than those obtained in patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease and are not related to the anti-inflammatory drugs administered. The aim of this study was to examine the clinical associations of findings on abdominal scintigraphy in patients with Sp. A total of 204 Sp patients (European Spondylarthropathy Study Group 1991 criteria) and 54 non-Sp controls receiving non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were studied. Abdominal scintigraphy images were obtained at 30 and 120 min after injection of technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO)-labelled leucocytes. 99mTc-HMPAO-labelled leucocyte scans were positive in 104 Sp patients (50.9%) and in six non-Sp controls (2.9%) (P<0.001; OR=8.32; 95% CI=3.23-22.67). Silent gut inflammation was not associated with any of the following: age of onset, duration of evolution, sex, family history of Sp or psoriasis, articular manifestations, extra-articular manifestations, radiological findings or HLA-B27 positivity. Positive abdominal scintigraphy was associated with active disease (P < 0.0001; OR=52.7; 95% CI=19-145.6) and an increase in the C-reactive protein (P < 0.005; OR = 3.4; 95% CI = 1.5-7.4). It is concluded that (a) abdominal scintigraphy using 99mTc-HMPAO-labelled leucocytes is of value in detecting the silent gut inflammation in Sp patients, and (b) silent gut inflammation is related to the clinical activity, but is not associated with any particular type of illness or with HLA-B27.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital Universitario Gergorio Marañón, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Alonso Farto
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Arias
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Lopez Longo
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Gonzalez Fernandez
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Monteagudo Saez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortega Valle
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bascones
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Peréz Vázquez
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carreño Peréz
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000328:Adult; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013166:Spondylitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime