The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology (핵의학기술)

The Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine Technology (대한핵의학기술학회)
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Discussion of COVID-19 Vaccination and Axillary Lymph Nodes Uptake in 18F-FDG PET/CT

18F-FDG PET/CT에서 코로나 백신접종과 액와 림프절 섭취에 대한 고찰

  • Min-Chan, Kim (Department of Nuclear Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System) ;
  • Yong-Hoon, Choi (Department of Nuclear Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System) ;
  • Han-Sang, Lim (Department of Nuclear Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System) ;
  • Jae-Sam, Kim (Department of Nuclear Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System)
  • 김민찬 (연세의료원 세브란스병원 핵의학과) ;
  • 최용훈 (연세의료원 세브란스병원 핵의학과) ;
  • 임한상 (연세의료원 세브란스병원 핵의학과) ;
  • 김재삼 (연세의료원 세브란스병원 핵의학과)
  • Received : 2022.09.30
  • Accepted : 2022.10.11
  • Published : 2022.10.22
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Abstract

Purpose There are reports that the COVID-19 vaccine causes false positive uptake of axillary lymph nodes. Therefore, this paper intends to evaluate the change in SUVmax of axillary lymph nodes with the period after the COVID-19 vaccination. Materials and Methods In 134 breast cancer patients who were tested for 18F-FDG PET/CT at Severance hospital, 3.7 MBq/kg of 18F-FDG was intravenously injected and scanned for 2 minutes per bed after 60 minutes. The equipment was Discovery 600 (GE Healthcare, MI, USA). The period was divided into four groups, 0 to 2 weeks, 3 to 6 weeks, 7 to 10 weeks, and 11 weeks or more. SUVmax was measured after checking the uptake of axillary lymph nodes on the ipsilateral side of vaccination and the Kruskal-Wallis test was performed using SPSS Statistics 28 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results From 0 to 2 weeks groups to 11 weeks or more group, the average of SUVmax was measured in the order of 5.52, 2.85, 1.82, and 1.7. As a result of the Kruskal-Wallis test, there was a significant difference between 0 to 2 weeks group from all other groups (P < 0.05), and there was no significant difference between the remaining three groups. Conclusion The SUVmax of axillary lymph nodes decreased over the period after the COVID-19 vaccination and no significant difference was found after 3 weeks of vaccination. Therefore, it is recommended to record COVID-19 vaccination information before examination.

코로나바이러스의 대유행으로 인하여 백신접종이 시작되었고 코로나 백신으로 인한 림프절병증의 여러사례가 발표되고 있으며, 18F-FDG PET/CT에서는 액와 림프절에 위양성 섭취를 유발한다는 보고가 있다. 이에 코로나 백신 접종 후 기간에 따른 접종 측 액와 림프절의 SUVmax의 변화 양상을 평가하고자 한다. 환자는 접종 후 기간을 0~2주, 3~6주, 7~10주, 11주 이상으로 4개 집단으로 나누었고 FDG를 3.7 MBq/kg을 주입하고 한 시간 뒤 1 bed 당 2분 동안 촬영했다. 장비는 Discovery 600 (GE Healthcare, MI, USA)을 사용하였다. 검사 후 핵의학 판독의가 육안평가를 진행하였고, 그 결과를 토대로 접종 측액와 림프절의 섭취 여부를 구분하였다. 그 후에 유방암 부위 반대 측 팔에 백신이 접종되었으며 그로 인해 섭취가 발생한 액와 림프절에 관심 영역을 그려 SUVmax를 측정하였다. 백신접종 후 기간이 지남에 따라 접종 측 액와 림프절에 섭취된 환자의 비율과 SUVmax는 감소하였다. 또한 4개 집단의 섭취된 액와 림프절의 SUVmax를 Kruskal-Wallis test를 한 결과 4개 집단 간 SUVmax에서 통계적으로 유의한 차이가 있었고(P<0.05) Mann-Whitney test로 사후 검정한 결과 0~2주는 다른 집단과 모두 유의한 차이가 있었으나(P<0.05) 나머지 3개 집단 간에는 유의한 차이가 없는 것을 알 수 있었다. 이러한 경향성은 참고자료로써 유용할 것으로 사료되며 PET/CT 검사 전 코로나 백신접종 정보를 기록하여 진행하는 것을 권고한다.

Keywords

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