title: Incidental extra-cardiac findings on13N-ammonia myocardial perfusion PET/CT.
abstract: The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of incidental extra-cardiac findings (IECFs) on myocardial perfusion PET/CTs and the prevalence of potentially clinically relevant and clinically irrelevant IECFs, as well as detection rate of previously unknown malignancies.
  
  
  
  From September 2013 until February 2016, a total of 1397 consecutive patients referred for the evaluation of possible ischemia by13NH3PET/CT were prospectively included in a database. IECFs were categorized into three groups: potentially clinically relevant IECFs, IECFs that could potentially cause chest pain, and clinically irrelevant IECFs. Additionally, the prevalence of previously unknown malignancies was determined. In 717 (51%) of these patients, 775 IECFs were reported and 115 IECFs were categorized as potentially clinically relevant in 109 (8%) patients. A total of 145 IECFs that could potentially cause chest pain were detected in 139 (10%) patients and 515 clinically irrelevant IECFs were detected in 469 (34%) of the patients. An unknown primary malignancy was histologically proven in 19 patients (1.4%).
  
  
  
  IECFs are detected on myocardial perfusion PET/CT in approximately half of the patients. In the present study, IECFs were potentially clinically relevant in 8% of the patients and in 1.4% an unknown malignancy was found, most of which were lung cancers.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Imaging Division Alkmaar, Northwest Clinics, Alkmaar, The Netherlands. h.kan@nwz.nl.|Department of Nuclear Medicine, Northwest Clinics, Wilhelminalaan 12, 1815 JD, Alkmaar, The Netherlands. h.kan@nwz.nl.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Imaging Division Alkmaar, Northwest Clinics, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.|Department of Nuclear Medicine, Northwest Clinics, Wilhelminalaan 12, 1815 JD, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: van der Zant
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Imaging Division Alkmaar, Northwest Clinics, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.|Department of Nuclear Medicine, Northwest Clinics, Wilhelminalaan 12, 1815 JD, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wondergem
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Imaging Division Alkmaar, Northwest Clinics, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.|Department of Nuclear Medicine, Northwest Clinics, Wilhelminalaan 12, 1815 JD, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R J J
authors.initials: RJJ
authors.lastname: Knol
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000641:Ammonia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055414:Myocardial Perfusion Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009590:Nitrogen Radioisotopes; D000072078:Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D009590:Nitrogen Radioisotopes; C000615247:Nitrogen-13; D000641:Ammonia
keywords: 13N-ammonia; Extra-cardiac findings; cancer; malignancies; myocardial PET/CT