Renal Function's Effect on Standardized Uptake Values in PET/CT

Objectives: The purpose of this research study is to clarify if renal function has an effect on the standardized uptake values (SUVs) in normal tissue between patients with adequate, moderately compromised, and severely compromised renal function who have undergone 2-deoxy-2-[ 18F ]fluoro-D-glucose(18F-FDG) PET/CT imaging. Methods: Data was collected retrospectively. Patients were divided into three groups based on their estimated glomular filtration rate (eGFR): 15 patients with adequate renal function (eGFR > 60), 15 patients with moderately compromised renal function (45 ≤ eGFR ≤ 60), and 15 patients with severely compromised renal function (eGFR < 45). All patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging at 45±5 minutes post injection. Regions of interest (ROIs) were placed over five regions for semi-quantitative analysis: the ascending aorta as a cardiac blood pool, the central right lobe of the liver, the spleen, the lower lobe of the right lung, and the right gluteal muscle. Results: The mean SUVs increased as the patients' renal function worsened. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the three groups of patients (p > 0.05). The only difference observed was in lung SUV for patients with adequate renal function compared to patients with severely compromised renal function (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In general, standardized uptake values in PET/CT are not affected by patients' renal function.