Clinical value of SPECT/CT imaging in the diagnosis of ectopic gastric mucosa

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of 99TcmO4-planar imaging combined SPECT/CT fusion imaging in patients with ectopic gastric mucosa (EGM). Methods Thirty-one patients (21 males, 10 females, age range: 8 months to 14 years) suspected of Meckel diverticulum were enrolled in this study. 99TcmO4-SPECT planar imaging was performed normally, followed by SPECT/CT fusion imaging at 20 min after 99TcmO4- injection. Pathological results, gastrointestinal endoscopy results and clinical follow-up were taken as the gold standard. The diagnostic efficacy of planar imaging, fusion imaging and the combined method of the two were compared by χ2 test. Results There were 18 EGM patients according to the pathological results. Planar imaging suggested 25 positive and 6 negative cases, while fusion imaging found positive results in 18 patients and negative results in 13 patients. The specificity (5/13 vs 12/13) and accuracy (70.97% (22/31) vs 93.55% (29/31)) of the two methods were significantly different (χ2=6.118, 5.415, both P<0.05). When the fusion imaging was combined with the planar imaging, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were 17/18, 13/13, 17/17, 13/14, 96.77%(30/31), respectively. Conclusions Compared with the planar imaging, SPECT/CT imaging can improve the diagnostic specificity for Meckel diverticulum, and the combination of fusion imaging and planar imaging may be more valuable. Key words: Gastric mucosa; Meckel diverticulum; Tomography, emission-computed, single-photon; Tomography, X-ray computed; Technetium