Clinical incremental values of extraosseous findings on CT during bone SPECT/CT imaging / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the prevalence of extraosseous findings on integrated CT images of routine SPECT/CT bone imaging and its clinical incremental values. Methods A total of 843 patients (470 males, 373 females, age range 26-92 years) who underwent SPECT/CT bone imaging during May 2013 to December 2015 were enrolled in this retrospective study. A modified C-RADS was used to classify the extraosseous findings to E1, E2, E3 and E4. χ2 test was used for data analysis. Results The CT images in 78.6%(663/843) of patients were normal or with no additional clinical significance (E1 and E2), and those in 21.4%(180/843) of patients might need further assessment (E3 and E4). The rate of E4 extraosseous findings in patients with malignancy was higher than that in patients without malignancy 9.5%(59/622) vs 5.0%(11/221); χ2=4.352, P0.05. With age increasing, the prevalence of E4 finding increased and the rate was the highest in the patients over 80 years old (125%, 16/128). Seventy patients had E4 findings and chest masses and nodules were the most common, followed by the abdominal or pelvis lymph node enlargements. Conclusions Potentially important extraosseous findings are common on SPECT/CT. Systematic reviewing CT images and communicating the important unexpected findings to clinical physicians could enhance its clinical incremental values.