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Clinical Utility of Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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Abstract

Purpose

The clinical utility of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in comparison to standard workup in patients with known or suspected inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unknown.

Procedures

Clinical data were collected on seven patients with known or suspected IBD undergoing PET/CT. Standard workup included history, physical exam, laboratory tests, colonoscopy and/or cross-sectional imaging. We divided the intestine into five regions [small bowel and four colon (ascending, transverse, descending and rectosigmoid)] and graded relative standard uptake values 0, 1, 2 or 3 by comparison to the liver, using a region-of-interest analysis (0 = no activity, 1 = liver, 2 and 3 = significant inflammation).

Results

In patients 1 and 2, PET/CT demonstrated more activity than we thought clinically present. The other patients avoided unnecessary escalation or initiation of IBD therapy based on PET/CT results. Compared with standard workup, all seven patients had superior results when therapeutic decisions were based on PET/CT.

Conclusions

We found PET/CT to be very useful in diagnosis and management in patients with known or suspected IBD.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded in part by an unrestricted grant from Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals.

Disclosure

None of the authors have conflicts to disclose.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA

    Robert T. Lapp, Bret J. Spier & Mark Reichelderfer

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA

    Scott B. Perlman & Christine J. Jaskowiak

Authors
  1. Robert T. Lapp
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  2. Bret J. Spier
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  3. Scott B. Perlman
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  4. Christine J. Jaskowiak
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  5. Mark Reichelderfer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark Reichelderfer.

Additional information

This is an article describing the clinical utility of PET/CT compared to standard workup in patients with known or suspected IBD. This manuscript is important as it evaluates the use of PET/CT to guide clinical management in patients with known or suspected IBD.

Financial Disclosures: This study was funded in part by an unrestricted grant from Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals.

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Lapp, R.T., Spier, B.J., Perlman, S.B. et al. Clinical Utility of Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Mol Imaging Biol 13, 573–576 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11307-010-0367-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11307-010-0367-0

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