Ning Ning1, Haiwei Henry Guo2, Andrei Iagaru3, Erik Mittra4, Michael Fowler5, Ronald Witteles6. 1. Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. 2. Department of Radiology and Thoracic Imaging, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. 3. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. 4. Division of Nuclear Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, Oregon. 5. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. 6. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. Electronic address: witteles@stanford.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cardiac fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET) has emerged as a standard imaging modality for the diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS); however, there is a scarcity of data on the use of serial FDG-PET to guide immunosuppressive therapy. The aim of this work was to report our experience using serial FDG-PET for the diagnosis and management of patients with CS, focusing on its utility in ongoing immunosuppression management. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied consecutive patients with CS managed at Stanford University from 2010 to 2017. We evaluated our experience using FDG-PET for diagnosis and guidance of immunosuppressive therapy titration in CS. Among 34 patients diagnosed with CS, 16 (47%), 12 (35%) and 14(41%) presented with heart block, heart failure, and ventricular arrhythmias, respectively. FDG-PET proved beneficial in the initial diagnosis in 21 patients (62%). A total of 128 FDG-PET scans were performed (median 3 per patient). Ninety-four FDG-PET scans (73%) resulted in a change in therapy, with 42FDG-PET scans (33%) instrumental for tapering prednisone. Among patients who were initiated on prednisone, the mean dose of prednisone at 1 year was 9.5mg/d. Over a median follow-up of 2.3years, 48% of patients were successfully weaned from prednisone completely, and 20% were weaned to a maintenance dosage of 5-10mg/d. During the follow-up period, transplant-free survival was 88%. CONCLUSIONS: The use of serial cardiac FDG-PET for the diagnosis and management of CS was critical for guiding immunosuppression management and resulted in low chronic steroid doses and good disease control within 1 year of diagnosis.
BACKGROUND: Cardiac fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET) has emerged as a standard imaging modality for the diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS); however, there is a scarcity of data on the use of serial FDG-PET to guide immunosuppressive therapy. The aim of this work was to report our experience using serial FDG-PET for the diagnosis and management of patients with CS, focusing on its utility in ongoing immunosuppression management. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied consecutive patients with CS managed at Stanford University from 2010 to 2017. We evaluated our experience using FDG-PET for diagnosis and guidance of immunosuppressive therapy titration in CS. Among 34 patients diagnosed with CS, 16 (47%), 12 (35%) and 14(41%) presented with heart block, heart failure, and ventricular arrhythmias, respectively. FDG-PET proved beneficial in the initial diagnosis in 21 patients (62%). A total of 128 FDG-PET scans were performed (median 3 per patient). Ninety-four FDG-PET scans (73%) resulted in a change in therapy, with 42FDG-PET scans (33%) instrumental for tapering prednisone. Among patients who were initiated on prednisone, the mean dose of prednisone at 1 year was 9.5mg/d. Over a median follow-up of 2.3years, 48% of patients were successfully weaned from prednisone completely, and 20% were weaned to a maintenance dosage of 5-10mg/d. During the follow-up period, transplant-free survival was 88%. CONCLUSIONS: The use of serial cardiac FDG-PET for the diagnosis and management of CS was critical for guiding immunosuppression management and resulted in low chronic steroid doses and good disease control within 1 year of diagnosis.
Authors: Enrico Ammirati; Emanuele Bizzi; Giacomo Veronese; Matthieu Groh; Caroline M Van de Heyning; Jukka Lehtonen; Marc Pineton de Chambrun; Alberto Cereda; Chiara Picchi; Lucia Trotta; Javid J Moslehi; Antonio Brucato Journal: Front Med (Lausanne) Date: 2022-03-07
Authors: Nisha A Gilotra; Jan M Griffin; Noelle Pavlovic; Brian A Houston; Jessica Chasler; Colleen Goetz; Jonathan Chrispin; Michelle Sharp; Edward K Kasper; Edward S Chen; Ron Blankstein; Leslie T Cooper; Emer Joyce; Farooq H Sheikh Journal: J Card Fail Date: 2021-07-11 Impact factor: 5.712