Myocardial positron emission tomography (PET) to detect cardiac sarcoidosis requires adequate patient preparation; however, in many cases physiologic myocardial 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) ...uptake may not be adequately suppressed. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of a structured patient preparation protocol as recommended by the joint SNMMI/ASNC expert consensus document on the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in cardiac sarcoid detection and therapy monitoring. The SNMMI/ASNC preparation protocol recommends at least two high-fat (> 35 g), low-carbohydrate (< 3 g) (HFLC) meals the day before testing followed by fasting for at least 4-12 hours.
All unique PET scans performed for cardiac sarcoidosis before (group 1) and after (group 2) application of the new preparation protocol were included in the study. In group 1, patients were given a preparation protocol of HFLC meals with suggested meals examples, while patients in group 2 received detailed diet instructions, together with accepted and non-accepted meal examples along. In group 2, reinforcement of instructions by nursing staff and review of dietary log were performed prior to testing. All PET images were evaluated for suppression of physiologic myocardial 18F-FDG uptake.
Group 1 included 124 unique patients, and group 2 included 232 unique patients. There were no significant differences in baseline patient characteristics between the two groups. Suppression of physiologic myocardial 18F-FDG uptake was achieved in 91% of patients in group 2, compared to 78% of patients in group 1 (P < .001). A “diffuse” myocardial uptake pattern, indicating inadequate 18F-FDG suppression, was seen in 2% of studies in group 2 vs 12% in group 1 (P < .001).
In this single-center study, application of a structured preparation protocol was highly successful in achieving suppression of physiologic myocardial 18F-FDG uptake in patients undergoing myocardial PET for cardiac sarcoidosis.
What is this image? 2022 image 6 result Malik, Awais; Sharain, Korosh; Foley, Thomas ...
Journal of nuclear cardiology,
June 2022, Volume:
29, Issue:
3
Journal Article
There is accumulating evidence for the existence of a phenotype of isolated cardiac sarcoidosis (ICS), or sarcoidosis that only involves the heart. In the absence of biopsy-confirmed cardiac ...sarcoidosis (CS), existing diagnostic criteria require the presence of extra-cardiac sarcoidosis as an inclusion criterion for the diagnosis of CS. Consequently, in the absence of a positive endomyocardial biopsy, ICS is not diagnosable by current guidelines. Therefore, there is uncertainty regarding the epidemiology, pathobiology, clinical characteristics, prognosis, and optimal treatment of ICS. This review will summarize the available data related to the prevalence and prognosis of ICS and will discuss challenges surrounding the diagnosis and management of this under-recognized entity.
Sarcoidosis is a multi-system inflammatory disease characterized by the development of inflammation and noncaseating granulomas that can involve nearly every organ system, with a predilection for the ...pulmonary system. Cardiac involvement of sarcoidosis (CS) occurs in up to 70% of cases, and accounts for a significant share of sarcoid-related mortality. The clinical presentation of CS can range from absence of symptoms to conduction abnormalities, heart failure, arrhythmias, valvular disease, and sudden cardiac death. Given the significant morbidity and mortality associated with CS, timely diagnosis is important. Traditional imaging modalities and histologic evaluation by endomyocardial biopsy often provide a low diagnostic yield. Cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) has emerged as a leading advanced imaging modality for the diagnosis and management of CS. This review article will summarize several aspects of the current use of PET in CS, including indications for use, patient preparation, image acquisition and interpretation, diagnostic and prognostic performance, and evaluation of treatment response. Additionally, this review will discuss novel PET radiotracers currently under study or of potential interest in CS.
Histologic evidence is required for a definitive diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) by published guidelines; however, the sporadic nature of the disease may produce false negative biopsy results, ...causing CS to be underdiagnosed. We sought to establish a clinical category of CS absent histologic findings.
Patients evaluated for CS were stratified into 3 groups: probable CS and definite CS based on Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) criteria and presumed CS, ie, patients without any histologic evidence of sarcoidosis, but with unexplained high-grade atrioventricular block or ventricular arrhythmia and findings suggestive of CS on either cardiac magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography. The primary end point was hospitalization-free and overall survival at 10 years.
A total of 383 patients were included in the study: 59, definite CS; 223, probable CS; and 101, presumed CS (62, isolated CS and 39, systemic CS). Compared with patients meeting HRS criteria for CS, patients with presumed CS had lower odds of New York Heart Association class III or IV symptoms (odds ratio OR, 0.44 95% CI, 0.23–0.83; P = .01) but greater odds of previous ventricular tachycardia (OR, 2.4 95% CI, 1.4–4.0; P = .001) or history of resuscitated sudden cardiac arrest (OR, 2.9 95% CI, 1.0–8.6; P = .05). Hospitalization-free and overall survival were similar among groups (P = .51 and P = .71, respectively).
Clinical categorization of patients with presumed CS identified a high-risk cohort comparable to patients with histologic evidence of disease, although caution should be exercised in reaching this diagnosis without paying due diligence to the differential diagnosis.
•Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) may be underdiagnosed.•A “presumed” CS category incorporates characteristic clinical and imaging findings.•The presumed cohort has similar presentation and symptomatology.•No difference in a composite CV outcome was identified among the cohorts.•Cardiac sarcoid diagnosis absent histology identifies patients warranting treatment.
Abstract Myocarditis is a recognized but underdiagnosed cause of cardiomyopathy due to its wide clinical spectrum and nonspecific presentation. Accurate diagnosis is important because 25% of patients ...with acute myocarditis develop cardiomyopathy, and of those, approximately 5% per year require heart transplantation or die. Current guidelines for the recognition and treatment of the inflammatory cardiomyopathies are limited. The gold standard for diagnosis, endomyocardial biopsy, has low sensitivity, and thus, multimodality imaging of inflammation plays a crucial role in defining the cardiac abnormalities and in assisting with diagnosis and management. The literature on inflammatory cardiomyopathies is limited to small studies of selected populations due to the diverse etiologies and inherent difficulties in definitive diagnosis. This review focuses on the current and projected use of various imaging modalities, including echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance, and nuclear imaging to better define inflammatory cardiomyopathies and aid in their management; it specifically focuses on cardiac sarcoidosis, and giant cell, eosinophilic, and lymphocytic myocarditis.
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