Abstract

There are several protocols in the clinical assessment of myocardial viability using ¹⁸FFDG PET/CT. This study assessed the intensity of ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in the wall of LV using a modified protocol in one group (Group A) consisting of 11 volunteers compared with another group (Group B) consisting of 11 patients who underwent 18F-FDG whole body (WB) PET/CT for oncology reasons. The ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in the wall of LV was qualitatively and quantitatively assessed. The mean age for group A and B were 35.00 ± 11.91 and 45.91 ± 14.58 respectively. The LV uptake of ¹⁸F-FDG was significantly increased in Group A. There was a significant difference in mean SUVmax at basal (8.28 ± 3.88 vs 3.79 ± 2.92, p=0.006), mid (5.32 ± 3.48 vs 3.71 ± 2.16, p=0.047), and apical (7.39 ± 3.57 vs 3.84 ± 2.82, p=0.018) segments of LV. The mean normalized ¹⁸F-FDG distribution in 20-segment polar map expressed in percentage for group B was lower in comparison to group A (61.02% vs 72.28%, p=0.034). Niacin can be utilized in combination with glucose loading protocol to enhance glucose uptake using ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT.

Keywords: Glucose uptake, myocardial viability, niacin, PET/CT.

Graphical Abstract