title: A longitudinal study of FDG-PET in Crohn disease patients receiving granulocyte/monocyte apheresis therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Endoscopy is the gold standard for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with Crohn disease (CD). However, a less invasive approach is now being sought for the management of these patients. The objective of this study was to examine whether (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) might be relevant for monitoring the disease activity in CD patients undergoing granulocyte/monocyte apheresis (GMA).
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted in 12 patients with CD who were receiving treatment with 10 once-a-week GMA sessions with the Adacolumn. The response to treatment was monitored by measuring standard laboratory variables, Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) score, International Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IOIBD) score, and regional and global bowel uptakes on FDG-PET.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 6 of the 12 patients, significant improvement of the CDAI was observed after the final session of GMA. The patients who showed clinical response to GMA had a decrease in the regional and global bowel uptakes on FDG-PET, whereas those who did not respond showed no change. In the patients who responded to the GMA, the decrease in regional bowel uptake on FDG-PET in each disease area of the same patient varied in parallel. There was a significant correlation between decrease in the global bowel uptake on FDG-PET and improvement of the CDAI and IOIBD scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The longitudinal changes in FDG-PET uptakes are of potential clinical interest for assessing the regional and global bowel disease activity in CD patients undergoing GMA therapy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuwaki
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan; Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan. Electronic address: ibd@med.kurume-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitsuyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Hayato
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaida
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidetoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takedatsu
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryosuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yamauchi
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuhei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukunaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Torimura
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001781:Blood Component Removal / Q000379:methods*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
keywords: Crohn disease; FDG; PET; granulocyte/monocyte apheresis