title: 99m Tc-HMPAO labelled leukocyte scintigraphy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a comparison with disease activity.
abstract: The aim of this study was to test the applicability of 99mTc-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) labelled leukocyte joint scintigraphy in the assessment of disease activity in 21 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and to compare leukocyte scintigraphy with the Disease Activity Score (DAS), a validated activity index developed by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). Twenty-one patients with rheumatoid arthritis were investigated by using 99mTc-HMPAO labelled leukocyte joint scintigraphy. The clinical and laboratory data were recorded, and the DAS was calculated and compared with the scintigraphic results in each case. A relatively high DAS score (4.71+/-1.07) was found in the majority of patients. The degree of accumulation of 99mTc-HMPAO leukocytes showed no correlation with a patient's age, gender, duration of disease, use of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), visual analogue scale (VAS), Richie index, DAS, or any laboratory parameters. In contrast, a significant correlation was found between the global regional accumulation of the labelled leukocytes of the hands and feet, and the swollen-joint count. It is concluded that radiolabelled leukocyte scintigraphy could become one of the promising methods in the assessment of disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Health Center, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary. gaalj@ibel.dote.hu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gaál
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mézes
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Síró
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Varga
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Galuska
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jánoky
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Garai
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bajnok
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Surányi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006225:Hand / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime