99mTc-apcitide scintigraphy in patients with clinically suspected deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism

Detection of acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in patients presenting with clinical symptoms suggesting DVT and pulmonary embolism (PE) with (99m)Tc-apcitide, a synthetic polypeptide, binding to glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptors expressed on activated platelets is the objective of the study.

Nineteen patients (11 males, eight females) received within 24h after admission to the hospital a mean of 841 MBq (range 667 to 1,080) (99m)Tc-apcitide i.v. followed by planar recordings 10, 60, and 120 min after injection. Images were compared to the results of compression ultrasonography and/or phlebography. Patients with clinically suspected PE underwent spiral computed tomography or lung perfusion scans.

(99m)Tc-apcitide scintigraphy showed acute clot formation in 14 out of 16 patients where the other imaging modalities suggested DVT. Positive scintigraphic results were seen up to 17 days after the onset of clinical symptoms. In three out of three patients without any proof of DVT, (99m)Tc-apcitide scintigraphy was truly negative. Glycoprotein receptor imaging showed only one segmental PE in six patients with imaging-proven subsegmental (N = 3) or segmental PE (N = 3).

(99m)Tc-apcitide scintigraphy may be an easy and promising tool for the detection of acute clot formation in patients with DVT up to 17 days after the onset of clinical symptoms with a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 100%. However, it failed to demonstrate PE in 83% of examined patients with proven PE.