Georg Bier1, Mustafa Kurucay2, Jörg Henes3, Theodoros Xenitidis3, Heike Preibsch2, Konstantin Nikolaou2, Marius Horger2. 1. Department of Neuroradiology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Str. 3, Tübingen 72076, Germany. Electronic address: georg.bier@med.uni-tuebingen.de. 2. Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. 3. Department of Internal Medicine-Oncology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the role of perfusion CT for monitoring inflammatory activity in patients with aortitis and chronic periaortitis undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventeen symptomatic patients (median age 68.5 years) who underwent perfusion-based computed tomography (CT) monitoring after diagnostic contrast-enhanced CT were retrospectively included in this study. Blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), volume transfer constant (k-trans), time to peak, and mean transit time were determined by setting circular regions of interest in prominently thickened parts of the vessel wall or perfused surrounding tissue at sites where the perfusion CT color maps showed a maximum BF value. Differences in CT perfusion and, morphological parameters, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were tested for significance during therapy. RESULTS: In all patients BF and BV dropped at second perfusion CT (P < 0.05). In aortitis patients, CRP dropped from 3.86 ± 5.31 mg/dL to 0.9 ± 1.37 mg/dL and in periaortitis patients from 1.78 ± 2.25 mg/dL to 0.79 ± 1.55 mg/dL, whereas ESR dropped from 45.71 ± 37.59 seconds to 8.57 ± 3.1 seconds and 36.78 ± 34.67 seconds to 17.22 ± 21.82 seconds in aortitis and in periaortitis, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The course of perfusion CT parameters in aortitis and chronic periaortitis undergoing immunosuppressive therapy dropped at different extent after therapy.
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the role of perfusion CT for monitoring inflammatory activity in patients with aortitis and chronic periaortitis undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventeen symptomatic patients (median age 68.5 years) who underwent perfusion-based computed tomography (CT) monitoring after diagnostic contrast-enhanced CT were retrospectively included in this study. Blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), volume transfer constant (k-trans), time to peak, and mean transit time were determined by setting circular regions of interest in prominently thickened parts of the vessel wall or perfused surrounding tissue at sites where the perfusion CT color maps showed a maximum BF value. Differences in CT perfusion and, morphological parameters, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were tested for significance during therapy. RESULTS: In all patients BF and BV dropped at second perfusion CT (P < 0.05). In aortitispatients, CRP dropped from 3.86 ± 5.31 mg/dL to 0.9 ± 1.37 mg/dL and in periaortitispatients from 1.78 ± 2.25 mg/dL to 0.79 ± 1.55 mg/dL, whereas ESR dropped from 45.71 ± 37.59 seconds to 8.57 ± 3.1 seconds and 36.78 ± 34.67 seconds to 17.22 ± 21.82 seconds in aortitis and in periaortitis, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The course of perfusion CT parameters in aortitis and chronic periaortitis undergoing immunosuppressive therapy dropped at different extent after therapy.