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Research ArticleRheumatoid Arthritis

Articular 18Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake Is Associated With Clinically Assessed Swollen Joint Count in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Iván Ferraz-Amaro, Arif Sheikh, Berna Polack, Jon T. Giles and Joan M. Bathon
The Journal of Rheumatology December 2022, 49 (12) 1315-1319; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.220231
Iván Ferraz-Amaro
1I. Ferraz-Amaro, MD, Division of Rheumatology, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain;
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  • For correspondence: iferrazamaro@hotmail.com
Arif Sheikh
2A. Sheikh, MD, Department of Radiology, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Kettering Health, Dayton, Ohio, USA;
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Berna Polack
3B. Polack, MD, Visiting Professor, Department of Radiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA;
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Jon T. Giles
4J.T. Giles, MD, J.M. Bathon, MD, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicans and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA.
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Joan M. Bathon
4J.T. Giles, MD, J.M. Bathon, MD, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicans and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA.
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Abstract

Objective Examination and conventional radiography of joints are unable to precisely evaluate and measure disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We quantified joint inflammation using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in people with RA to determine if PET-derived uptake variables were correlated with RA disease activity measures.

Methods We cross-sectionally studied 34 patients with RA in a substudy of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Study of the Myocardium (RHYTHM). All patients underwent 18F-FDG-PET scanning with CT for attenuation correction and anatomic co-registration. Linear regression was used to model the associations of disease activity scores with articular FDG uptake, calculated as standardized uptake values (SUVs). Weighted joint volume SUVs (wjSUV) representing 25%, 50%, 75%, and maximum (100%) uptake (wj25SUV, wj50SUV, wj75SUV, and wjMaxSUV, respectively) were calculated as global variables of the total volume of joint inflammation in each patient.

Results Calculated wj25SUV (Spearman ρ = 0.39, P = 0.04), wj50SUV (ρ = 0.39, P = 0.04), and wj75SUV (ρ = 0.37, P = 0.045) measures were significantly correlated with the number of swollen joints. Similar significant correlations were found for the Simplified Disease Activity Index but not Clinical Disease Activity or Disease Activity Score in 28 joints. No associations were found between articular FDG uptake and nonarticular RA-related variables (ie, disease duration, seropositivity, or RA treatments).

Conclusion Articular FDG uptake in patients with RA was significantly correlated with the number of swollen joints but not with biochemical measures of inflammation.

Key Indexing Terms:
  • diagnostic imaging
  • disease activity
  • rheumatoid arthritis
  • Accepted for publication July 22, 2022.
  • Copyright © 2022 by the Journal of Rheumatology
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The Journal of Rheumatology
Vol. 49, Issue 12
1 Dec 2022
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Articular 18Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake Is Associated With Clinically Assessed Swollen Joint Count in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis
Iván Ferraz-Amaro, Arif Sheikh, Berna Polack, Jon T. Giles, Joan M. Bathon
The Journal of Rheumatology Dec 2022, 49 (12) 1315-1319; DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.220231

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Articular 18Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake Is Associated With Clinically Assessed Swollen Joint Count in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis
Iván Ferraz-Amaro, Arif Sheikh, Berna Polack, Jon T. Giles, Joan M. Bathon
The Journal of Rheumatology Dec 2022, 49 (12) 1315-1319; DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.220231
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Keywords

DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING
DISEASE ACTIVITY
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

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