Comparative Evaluation of 68Ga-Citrate PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT in the Diagnosis of Type II Collagen-Induced Arthritis in Rats

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by systemic, symmetrical, and erosive synovitis. RA is one of the most common disabling diseases in the clinic. The main clinical intervention strategies are early diagnosis and early treatment. This study aims to predict the diagnostic value of 68Ga-citrate and 18F-FDG PET/CT in RA by comparing and analyzing the value of 68Ga-citrate and 18F-FDG PET/CT for diagnosing type II collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in rats. Some CIA models were established. Normal rats were selected as the control group, and 23 days and 40 days were selected as the early and late time points of arthritis, respectively. The semiquantitative analysis of CIA rats was carried out with 68Ga-citrate PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT, and the ratio of the maximum standardized uptake (SUVmax) values in the regions of interest (ROIs) of the hind foot ankle joint and thigh muscle was calculated and statistically analyzed. The distribution of CIA rats in vivo at the 68Ga-citrate 90 min time point was studied, and the ankle tissues were evaluated with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. 68Ga-citrate PET/CT is obviously superior to 18F-FDG PET/CT for CIA imaging, and the statistical results show that the difference between the two examination methods is statistically significant (P