title: Diagnostic performance of Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To systematically review and meta-analyze published data about the diagnostic performance of Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive computer literature search of studies published through May 2012 regarding (18)F-FDG-PET and PET/CT in patients with IBD was performed. All retrieved studies were reviewed and qualitatively analyzed. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio (LR+ and LR-) and diagnostic odd ratio (DOR) of (18)F-FDG PET and PET/CT in patients with IBD on a per segment-based analysis were calculated. The area under the ROC curve was calculated to measure the accuracy of (18)F-FDG PET and PET/CT in patients with IBD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nineteen studies comprising 454 patients with suspected IBD were included in the qualitative analysis (systematic review) and discussed. The quantitative analysis (meta-analysis) of seven selected studies (including 219 patients with IBD) provided the following results on a per segment-based analysis: sensitivity was 85% [95% confidence interval (95%CI) 81-88%], specificity 87% (95%CI 84-90%), LR+ 6.19 (95%CI: 2.86-13.41), LR- 0.19 (95%CI: 0.10-0.34), and DOR 44.35 (95%CI: 11.77-167.07). The area under the ROC curve was 0.933.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with suspected IBD (18)F-FDG PET and PET/CT demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity, being accurate methods in this setting. Nevertheless, the literature focusing on the use of PET and PET/CT in IBD remains still limited; thus, further large multicenter studies will be necessary to substantiate the diagnostic accuracy of these methods in patients with IBD.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. giorgiomednuc@libero.it
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Treglia
authors.forename: Natale
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Quartuccio
authors.forename: Ramin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farchione
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caldarella
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bertagna
authors.forename: Piercarlo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fania
authors.forename: Angelina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cistaro
mesh_terms: D019540:Area Under Curve; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012372:ROC Curve; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18