title: Comparison of early (60 min) and delayed (180 min) acquisition of 18F-FDG PET/CT in large vessel vasculitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the contribution of the (18)F-FDG-PET/CT acquisition at 180 min and at 60 min in suspicion of large vessel vasculitis (LVV).
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study including 23 patients was performed. PET/CT was acquired at 60 and 180 min (early and delayed scan) after (18)F-FDG injection. A visual analysis was performed at the supra-aortic trunks (SAT), thoracic aorta (TA), abdominal aorta (AA), iliac arteries (IA) and femoral/tibioperoneal arteries (FTA). Intensity (0-3) and uptake pattern (diffuse/linear) were assessed in the 115 vascular regions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no FDG uptake in the early and delayed acquisition in 20/115 vascular regions (17.4%). Of the 95 regions (82.6%) showing FDG uptake at the early, delayed or both acquisitions, intensity did not change in the delayed acquisition in 46 and changed in 49. Of the 49 regions in which the intensity changed, it decreased in 36 and increased in 13 (TA:8, SAT:5). AA, IA and FTA intensity did not increase in any of the cases. Uptake pattern at the TA in the early acquisition was diffuse in 16 patients. In 7, it changed to linear and in 9 the uptake disappeared. The early pattern was linear in 7 patients and 6 of them showed increased intensity in the delayed acquisition and in 1 remained the same.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 180 min delayed FDG-PET/CT acquisition provides a more detailed visualized of the vessel wall, showing the washout of the blood pool activity. Therefore, it may contribute to a more accurate diagnosis of LVV.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Nuclear, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain. mimartinez@humv.es
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martínez-Rodríguez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: del Castillo-Matos
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quirce
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Bonilla
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Arcocha-Torres
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ortega-Nava
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rubio-Vassallo
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Martínez Amador
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ibáñez Bravo
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Carril
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18