99mTc-HMPAO-Labelled Leukocytes Scintigraphy in Monitoring Children and Adolescents with IBD

The aim of the study was to determine the usefulness of the 99mTc-HMPAO-labelled leukocytes scintigraphy in monitoring patients with inflammatory bowel disease confirmed by histology. Patients and method: 40 patients (23 boys and 17 girls) were examined originally; 23 of them were re-examined repeatedly. A routine 99mTc-HMPAO method was used on in vitro labelled leukocytes. All children had an early abdominal scintigraphic image, SPECT of the abdomen and a whole body scan. For classification purposes, the semi-quantitative analysis of Cheow et al. (2005) was used to assess the disease activity. The patients were divided into 3 groups: group I with low (0-3), group II with middle (4-6), and group III with high (7-9) scores of a pathological uptake in the abdomen. Results: 1) We found 22 patients in group I, 33 patients in group II, and 12 patients in group III by the early scintigraphic image evaluation of the abdomen. 2) On the later whole-body images we detected 10 patients in group I, 32 patients in group II and 25 patients in group III. 3) All later images had the same or higher scores than the early images. 4) The follow-up scintigraphic monitoring of children revealed regression of the disease in 10 patients, no substantial changes in 8 patients, and relapse in 5 children. Conclusion: The results indicate that this technique might play an important role in the follow-up of IBD patients and as an addition to clinical symptoms and laboratory examinations, provides good information about the current stage of disease in IBD monitoring.