Abstract:
Objective To investigate the imaging features and diagnostic value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT in differentiating adult-onset Still′s disease (AOSD) from lymphoma in the etiology of fever of unknown origin (FUO).
Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 295 patients (103 males and 192 females with an average age of 42.9±16.1) who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT for FUO at Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, from December 2016 to December 2018. Sixty-nine patients with AOSD (11 males and 58 females) and 36 patients with lymphoma (19 males and 17 females) were enrolled. The metabolic parameters of the bone marrow, spleen, and lymph nodes on 18F-FDG PET/CT were compared between the groups. Chi-square test or independent sample t-test was used for intergroup comparison.
Results The incidence of 18F-FDG hypermetabolism in the bone marrow (62.3% (43/69) vs. 16.7% (6/36); χ2=28.4, P<0.001) and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax: 5.5±1.8 vs. 4.2±1.2; t=5.1, P<0.001) in patients with AOSD were significantly higher than those in patients with lymphoma. Although the incidence of splenomegaly in patients with AOSD was lower than that in patients with lymphoma (37.7% (26/69) vs. 61.1% (22/36); χ2=6.3, P=0.013), no significant difference in the SUVmax of the spleen was found between the groups (4.3±1.7 vs. 4.1±2.6; t=0.9, P=0.344). The SUVmax of the lymph nodes (6.2±5.7 vs. 10.9±8.8; t=−3.1, P=0.003), total metabolic lesion volume (MLV: (33.5±49.2) cm3 vs. (80.3±399.2) cm3; t=−4.9, P<0.001), and total total lesion glycolysis (TLG: (167.0±544.6) g vs. (1304.0±3534.5) g; t=−4.3, P<0.001) were lower in patients with AOSD than those in patients with lymphoma.
Conclusion 18F-FDG PET/CT can assist in differentiating AOSD from lymphoma in the etiology of FUO on the basis of the characteristics of the incidence of 18F-FDG hypermetabolism and SUVmax of the bone marrow, incidence of splenomegaly, and total MLV and total TLG of the lymph nodes.