José Soares Júnior

Dipyridamole stress and rest myocardial perfusion by 64-detector row computed tomography in patients with suspected coronary artery disease.

Recently, stress myocardial computed tomographic perfusion (CTP) was shown to detect myocardial ischemia. Our main objective was to evaluate the feasibility of dipyridamole stress CTP and compare it to single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to detect significant coronary stenosis using invasive conventional coronary angiography (CCA; stenosis >70%) as the reference method. Thirty-six patients (62 +/- 8 years old, 20 men) with previous positive results with SPECT (<2 months) as the primary inclusion criterion and suspected coronary artery disease underwent a customized multidetector-row CT protocol with myocardial perfusion evaluation at rest and during stress and coronary CT angiography (CTA). Multidetector-row computed tomography was performed in a 64-slice scanner with dipyridamole stress perfusion acquisition before a second perfusion/CT angiographic acquisition at rest. Independent blinded observers performed analysis of images from CTP, CTA, and CCA. All 36 patients completed the CT protocol with no adverse events (mean radiation dose 14.7 +/- 3.0 mSv) and with interpretable scans. CTP results were positive in 27 of 36 patients (75%). From the 9 (25%) disagreements, 6 patients had normal coronary arteries and 2 had no significant stenosis (8 false-positive results with SPECT, 22%). The remaining patient had an occluded artery with collateral flow confirmed by conventional coronary angiogram. Good agreement was demonstrated between CTP and SPECT on a per-patient analysis (kappa 0.53). In 26 patients using CCA as reference, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 88.0%, 79.3%, 66.7%, and 93.3% for CTP and 68.8, 76.1%, 66.7%, and 77.8%, for SPECT, respectively (p = NS). In conclusion, dipyridamole CT myocardial perfusion at rest and during stress is feasible and results are similar to single-photon emission CT scintigraphy. The anatomical-perfusion information provided by this combined CT protocol may allow identification of false-positive results by SPECT.

Imagem em tuberculose pulmonar

Tuberculosis is a disease of high incidence and prevalence in Brazil. Imaging methods can reveal signs suggestive of tuberculosis activity or sequelae. Chest radiographs can reveal active lung tuberculosis through consolidations, cavitations, interstitial patterns (nodular and reticulo-nodular), mediastinal or hilar lymphadenopathy and pleural effusions. Images compatible with the active disease, such as centrilobular nodules segmentarily distributed, thick-walled cavities, thickened bronchial or bronchiolar walls, bronchiectasis and lymphadenopathy can be observed by computerized tomography. Thin-walled cavities, traction bronchiectasis, parenchymal bands, emphysema and mosaic pattern are signs suggestive of inactive disease. Gallium-67 citrate scyntigraphy is a complementary method useful in the detection of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, especially in immunocompromised patients. Inhalation / perfusion analyses are used in the pre-operative assessment of patients carrying tuberculosis sequelaes and multiresistant tuberculosis. Positron emission tomography with fluorine-18 labeled deoxyglucose allows the detection of the inflammatory process that takes place during the active stage of tuberculosis and may persist, not so intense, after specific treatment is over. Imaging methods are valuable tools to be used in the diagnosis and follow up of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Positron emission tomography with 2-[18F]-Fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose for initial staging of hodgkin lymphoma: a single center experience in Brazil

BACKGROUND: 2-[18F]-Fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (FDG-PET) is a well established functional imaging modality for the initial staging of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in patients from Western Europe and North America. The reliability of FDG-PET in populations of different ethnic groups is unclear, as all investigations published to date have come from developed countries. PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of FDG-PET in the initial staging of HL patients in a Brazilian population. METHODS: Eighty-two patients with newly diagnosed HL were prospectively included in the study. All patients were staged with both conventional clinical staging (CCS) methods, including computed tomography (CT) and whole-body FDG-PET methods. A standard of reference for the nodal regions and the extranodal organs was determined using all available information, including the CCS methods, FDG-PET, the diagnostic histology and the follow-up examinations. The results of the CCS were then compared to the FDG-PET results. RESULTS: The sensitivity of FDG-PET was higher for nodal staging than that of CT (87.8% vs. 61.6%, respectively). FDG-PET was also more sensitive than CT in regard to evaluating the extranodal organs for lymphomatous involvement (96.2% vs. 40.0%, respectively). FDG-PET detected all 16 patients who were characterized by a positive bone marrow biopsy and identified an additional 4 patients with bone marrow disease. The incorporation of FDG-PET coupled with CCS in the staging procedure upstaged 20% (17/82) of the patients and downstaged 11% (9/82) of the patients. As a result of these changes in staging, 15% (13/82) of the patients would have received a different therapeutic regimen. CONCLUSIONS: The FDG-PET method is superior to CT for the detection of nodal and extra-nodal HL. The observation that the FDG-PET method upstaged the disease was the most common result (20% of patients) brought about by the addition of PET to the staging algorithm, even in a population of patients with a high incidence of advanced disease. However, changes in stages based on FDG-PET results should be confirmed by biopsy.

Diferenças relacionadas ao sexo nos volumes ventriculares e na fração de ejeção do ventrículo esquerdo estimados por cintilografia de perfusão miocárdica: comparação entre os programas Quantitative Gated SPECT (QGS) e Segami

OBJECTIVESnTo test for gender differences in the measurements obtained by Segami and Quantitative Gated SPECT (QGS) software programs.nnnMETHODSn181 asymptomatic individuals without heart disease were submitted to myocardial perfusion imaging. End-diastolic volumes (EDV), end-systolic volumes (ESV) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were measured by QGS and Segami software programs to evaluate the influence of gender, age, weight, height, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index and body surface area.nnnRESULTSnThe means in the QGS method were: EDV (women= 68 ml; men= 95 ml; p<0.001), LVEF (women= 66.24%; men= 58, 7%) and Segami: EDV (women= 137 ml; men= 174 ml), LVEF (women= 62.67%; men= 58, 52%). There were significant differences between men and women in the EDV (p<0.001), ESV (p<0.001) and LVEF (p=0.001) that persisted after adjusting for body surface area.nnnCONCLUSIONnVentricular volumes were significantly lower and LVEF was significantly higher in women, estimated by QGS or Segami software programs.

Lista de recomendações do Exame PET/CT com 18F-FDG em Oncologia. Consenso entre a Sociedade Brasileira de Cancerologia e a Sociedade Brasileira de Biologia, Medicina Nuclear e Imagem Molecular

The authors present a list of recommendations on the utilization of 18F-FDG PET/CT in oncology for the diagnosis, staging and detection of cancer, as well as in the follow-up of the disease progression and possible recurrence. The recommendations were based on the analysis of controlled studies and a systematic review of the literature including both retrospective and prospective studies regarding the clinical usefulness and the impact of 18F-FDG PET/CT on the management of cancer patients. 18F-FDG PET/CT should be utilized as a supplement to other conventional imaging methods such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Positive results suggesting changes in the clinical management should be confirmed by histopathological studies. 18F-FDG PET should be utilized in the diagnosis and appropriate clinical management of cancer involving the respiratory system, head and neck, digestive system, breast, genital organs, thyroid, central nervous system, besides melanomas, lymphomas and occult primary tumors.

Tomografia por emissão de pósitrons com 18F fluordesoxiglicose como exame não invasivo para o diagnóstico de sarcomas primários de artéria pulmonar

Os sarcomas de arteria pulmonar sao tumores raros e de dificil diagnostico, simulando frequentemente o tromboembolismo pulmonar cronico. Relatamos dois casos de pacientes do sexo feminino com quadro clinico de dispneia e massas pulmonares associadas a falhas de enchimento na arteria pulmonar em angiotomografia de torax. A tomografia por emissao de positrons com 18F fluordesoxiglicose mostrou hipercaptacao das respectivas lesoes. O sarcoma de arteria pulmonar foi confirmado posteriormente por exame anatomopatologico. Ressaltamos a importância do uso desse tipo de tomografia como exame nao invasivo no auxilio diagnostico desses tumores

Metabolic test with fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose in staging and detection of residual tumor or recurrence in Hodgkin lymphoma

OBJECTIVEnThe metabolic test using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose is a useful tool for the management of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, either for staging purposes or for the evaluation of suspicious masses that can frequently occur after treatment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the value of the 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose test performed with a dual-head coincident gamma camera (CGC-PET with fluorodeoxyglucose) for the staging and the detection of residual tumor of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.nnnMETHODSnThirty-eight consecutive patients were included in this retrospective study; the metabolic test comprising CGC-PET with FDG was done in 18 patients for staging work-up (Group 1), and the results were compared to conventional clinical staging procedures that included computed tomography scans and bone marrow biopsy. The remaining 20 patients were evaluated with CGC-PET with fluorodeoxyglucose due to the presence of residual masses or a new lesion (Group 2).nnnRESULTSnThe 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose metabolic test, CGC-PET with fluorodeoxyglucose, upstaged 5 (27%) of the Group 1 patients and detected more lesions (45) than conventional methods of staging (33). Of the 20 patients in Group 2, 11 had positive18F-fluorodeoxyglucosetests, and a viable tumor was confirmed in 9 patients. Regarding the 9 patients with negative fluorodeoxyglucose metabolic tests, the 1-year probability of recurrence was 11.8%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of the CGC-PET with fluorodeoxyglucose test were 90%, 80%, 82%, 89%, and 85% respectively.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe metabolic test comprising CGC-PET with fluorodeoxyglucose had a higher diagnostic accuracy than conventional methods in the staging of Hodgkin lymphoma and thus is a valuable noninvasive tool for the diagnosis of suspicious lesions.

Assessment of late anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity by 123I-mIBG cardiac scintigraphy in patients treated during childhood and adolescence

PurposeThe goal of this study was to evaluate late cardiotoxic effects of anthracyclines (ATC) by evaluating cardiac sympathetic activity in a cohort of asymptomatic patients previously treated with ATC for childhood cancers.MethodsWe studied 89 asymptomatic patients previously treated with ATC with a normal echocardiogram (49 men and 40 women) and a control group of 40 healthy individuals (26 men and 14 women). Both groups underwent planar myocardial 123I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy (123I-mIBG). From these images, the early and late heart-to-mediastinum (H/M) ratio and washout rate (WR) were assessed.ResultsThe mean survival at the time of the 123I-mIBG scintigraphy was 5.3xa0±xa03.4 years. Patients treated with ATC had a lower but clinical normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) compared to controls (60.44xa0±xa06.5 vs 64.1 ±xa06.0%, P < 0.01). Both the late H/M ratio and WR were not able to discriminate ATC treated patients from controls. The cumulative ATC dose was the only independent predictor of the LVEF, explaining approximately 12% of the variation in LVEF (P = 0.01).ConclusionsAlthough the pathophysiology behind ATC cardiotoxicity is most likely multifactorial, myocardial sympathetic activity is not associated with a reduction in LVEF 5-years after completion of chemotherapy.

A tomografia por emissão de pósitrons com 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-desoxi-D-glicose é custo-efetiva em pacientes com câncer de pulmão não pequenas células no Brasil

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of metabolic staging (MS) with FDG-PET as compared with the conventional staging (CS) strategy in the preoperative staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 95 patients with initial diagnosis of NSCLC were staged before undergoing treatment. The MS and CS results were compared with regard to treatment definition and incidence of futile thoracotomies with both strategies. RESULTS: Metabolic staging with FDG-PET upstaged 48.4% and downstaged 5.3% of the patients, and would lead to change in the treatment of 41% of cases. Thoracotomy was considered as futile in 47% of the patients with CS, and in 19% of the patients with MS. The cost of futile thoracotomies in eight patients with MS was R

Sincronia ventricular em portadores de miocardiopatia dilatada e indivíduos normais: avaliação através da ventriculografia radioisotópica

79,720, while in 31 patients with CS it would be R