Increased prognostic value of combined myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging and the quantification of lung Tl-201 uptake.
OBJECTIVE
The authors wanted to identify those patients assessed by exercise SPECT in whom the quantification of lung Tl-201 uptake helps to evaluate disease prognosis.


METHODS
One hundred forty-nine patients (114 men, 35 women; 74 after myocardial infarction [MI]; mean age, 54 +/- 9 years) underwent exercise Tl-201 SPECT. The SPECT patterns were divided into normal (n = 45), fixed defects (n = 29), and inducible ischemia (n = 75). Anterior planar imaging was performed before SPECT acquisition to calculate the lung-to-heart ratio (L:H).


RESULTS
During an average follow-up of 20 +/- 9 months, eight patients had died of cardiac causes and 13 patients experienced nonfatal MIs. Among the 45 patients with normal perfusion, no cardiac event was observed and the L:H ratio was not helpful for risk stratification. In 29 patients with fixed defects, four cardiac deaths occurred (all in patients with L:H ratios >0.5; annual event rate, 21.1% for L:H ratios >0.5 compared with 0% for L:H ratios <0.5; chi-square = 4.07, P < 0.05). Among the 75 patients with ischemia, 4 died and 13 had nonfatal MIs (annual event rate, 15.4% for L:H ratios >0.5 compared with 13% for L:H ratios <0.5; P = NS).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest a benign prognosis in patients with normal SPECT (regardless of the L:H ratio). Conversely, all patients with ischemia are at high risk for future cardiac events. Quantification of the Tl-201 lung uptake seems to be valuable in evaluations of disease prognosis, especially in patients with fixed defects.
Kamínek
Milan
M
Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Olomouc, IP Pavlova 6, CZ-775 20, Czech Republic. milan.kaminek@fnol.cz
Myslivecek
Miroslav
M
Skvarilová
Marcela
M
Husák
Václav
V
Koranda
Pavel
P
Metelková
Iva
I
Lang
Otto
O
D003326:Coronary Circulation; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes