title: Monitoring Disease Activity in Patients with Aortitis and Chronic Periaortitis Undergoing Immunosuppressive Therapy by Perfusion CT.
abstract: To evaluate the role of perfusion CT for monitoring inflammatory activity in patients with aortitis and chronic periaortitis undergoing immunosuppressive therapy.
  
  
  
  Seventeen symptomatic patients (median age 68.5 years) who underwent perfusion-based computed tomography (CT) monitoring after diagnostic contrast-enhanced CT were retrospectively included in this study. Blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), volume transfer constant (k-trans), time to peak, and mean transit time were determined by setting circular regions of interest in prominently thickened parts of the vessel wall or perfused surrounding tissue at sites where the perfusion CT color maps showed a maximum BF value. Differences in CT perfusion and, morphological parameters, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were tested for significance during therapy.
  
  
  
  In all patients BF and BV dropped at second perfusion CT (P < 0.05). In aortitis patients, CRP dropped from 3.86 ± 5.31 mg/dL to 0.9 ± 1.37 mg/dL and in periaortitis patients from 1.78 ± 2.25 mg/dL to 0.79 ± 1.55 mg/dL, whereas ESR dropped from 45.71 ± 37.59 seconds to 8.57 ± 3.1 seconds and 36.78 ± 34.67 seconds to 17.22 ± 21.82 seconds in aortitis and in periaortitis, respectively.
  
  
  
  The course of perfusion CT parameters in aortitis and chronic periaortitis undergoing immunosuppressive therapy dropped at different extent after therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Str. 3, Tübingen 72076, Germany. Electronic address: georg.bier@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bier
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurucay
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine-Oncology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Henes
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine-Oncology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xenitidis
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Heike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Preibsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Konstantin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nikolaou
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Marius
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horger
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001025:Aortitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D062072:Patient Acuity; D055420:Perfusion Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D012185:Retroperitoneal Fibrosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: 4D computed tomography; Computed tomography; aortitis; perfusion; retroperitoneal fibrosis