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. ­is study aims to predict the diagnostic value of 68Ga-citrate and 18F-FDG PET/CTin 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. ­e 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/CTfor CIA imaging, and the statistical results show that the di¡erence between the two examination methods is statistically signi¢cant (P < 0.001). ­e uptake of these two radiopharmaceuticals showed the same trend in arthritis rats with di¡erent scores. ­e distribution of 68Ga-citrate at 90 min is consistent with the trend shown by 68Ga-citrate PET/CT. 68Ga-citrate PET/CT can re£ect the in£ammatory activity of a¡ected joints in CIA rats earlier and more sensitively than 18F-FDG PET/CT, and this imaging advantage continues until the later stage of in£ammation. ­erefore, 68Ga-citrate PET/CT is worthy of further promotion and application in the clinical diagnosis of RA.