Impact of obesity and acquisition protocol on (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine indexes of cardiac sympathetic innervation

Teresa Pellegrino; Valentina Piscopo; Antonio Boemio; Barbara Russo; Gianluca De Matteis; Sara Pellegrino; Sara Maria Delle Acque Giorgio; Manuela Amato; Mario Petretta; Alberto Cuocolo

doi:10.3978/j.issn.2223-4292.2015.11.03

Impact of obesity and acquisition protocol on (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine indexes of cardiac sympathetic innervation

Quant Imaging Med Surg. 2015 Dec;5(6):822-8. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2223-4292.2015.11.03.

Affiliation

¹ 1 Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging, National Council of Research, Via De Amicis 95, 80145 Naples, Italy ; 2 Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, 3 Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University Federico II, Via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy.

PMID: 26807364
PMCID: PMC4700238
DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2223-4292.2015.11.03

Abstract

Background: This study was designed to assess the impact of obesity and acquisition protocol on (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) indexes of cardiac sympathetic innervation.

Methods: Forty-five patients with heart failure (HF) (38 men, age 58±15 years) underwent (123)I-MIBG cardiac imaging. Of these patients, 10 were obese [body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m(2)]. Ten-minute planar images of the thorax in anterior view were performed 15 minutes ("early" image) and 3 hours and 50 minutes ("late" image) after tracer administration in both supine- and prone-position. Early and late (123)I-MIBG heart-to-mediastinum (H/M) ratios and washout rate were computed.

Results: In overall study population, early and late (123)I-MIBG H/M ratios and washout rate were comparable between supine- and prone-position acquisitions. Obese patients had a lower early and late (123)I-MIBG H/M ratios both in supine (P<0.01) and prone (P<0.05) positions compared to non-obese subjects.

Conclusions: Our results indicate that in HF patients, obesity has a significant impact on (123)I-MIBG indexes of cardiac sympathetic innervation. Prone-position did not change early and late (123)I-MIBG H/M ratios and washout rate compared to supine position both in obese and non-obese HF patients.

Keywords: Metaiodobenzylguanidine cardiac imaging (MIBG cardiac imaging); heart-to-mediastinum ratios (H/M ratios); obesity; prone-position acquisition; washout rate.