Noninvasive assessment of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease with ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography and computed tomography.
Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2011;
23:81-9. [PMID:
21042220 DOI:
10.1097/meg.0b013e3283410222]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) is a less invasive diagnostic tool and promising in detecting gastrointestinal lesions of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Co-registration of low-dose computed tomography (CT) could lead to improvements in the assessment of disease. Therefore, this retrospective study evaluates the value of PET±CT in pediatric IBD patients.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
We analyzed ¹⁸F-FDG-PET scans without (n=24) or with combined (n=21) low-dose CT in children (18 females, 27 males, age: 3.7-16.7 years, median 13.2 years) who presented with the diagnosis of IBD (n=45). Results of PET±CT scans and conventional diagnostic procedures (endoscopy, histology, and ultrasound) were compared by a segment-based analysis.
RESULTS
Overall, 253 segments of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) were explored by endoscopy/histology and ¹⁸F-FDG-PET±CT. Twenty-five additional small bowel segments were assessed by abdominal ultrasound and further 152 GIT segments not reached during endoscopy were evaluated by PET±CT. PET±CT revealed a segment-based sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and an accuracy for the detection of GIT lesions of 82, 97, 96, 88, and 91%, respectively. The patient-based sensitivity and specificity was 97 and 100%, respectively. Interestingly, the co-registration of CT did not improve the diagnostic informative value.
CONCLUSION
FDG-PET±CT is especially suitable for the assessment of IBD in children. The radiation exposure of 3-7 mSv is justified by the accuracy of this approach. FDG-PET seems to be a reliable tool for detecting inflamed gut segments in IBD with high sensitivity and specificity. The co-registration of CT had no additional benefit.
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