Utility of 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion imaging in the evaluation of cardiovascular complications in COVID-19 patients

Document Type : letter to the editor.

Authors

1 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Hazrate Rasule Akram General Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The coronavirus disease is due to Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 mainly affects the respiratory and immune systems and other organs like the cardiovascular and nervous systems, lungs, and kidneys (1). Several studies have reported COVID-19 patients with persistent symptoms for months after the initial phase. The most common symptoms are fatigue, headaches, cough, anosmia, arthralgia, and chest pain (2). Studies have shown this modality to diagnose, follow up, and evaluate response to treatment in chronic COVID-19 complications using 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), pulmonary involvement with  99mTc-MAA perfusion lung scan, renal involvement with 99mTc-DTPA, and 99mTc-DMSA renal scintigraphy (3). Myocardial perfusion imaging with 99mTc-MIBI provides meaningful data to predict prognosis, risk of annual cardiac events, and evaluation of myocardium viability (4). Conventional SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging (MPI) needs a viable metabolically active myocardial cell to extract the radiotracer. A review of articles shows that 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion scintigraphy could be helpful in the timely acute myocardial infarction (MI)  diagnosis and myocardial viability in COVID-19 patients. It is also beneficial in managing COVID-19 patients with heart failure by myocardial injury evaluation and choosing the best therapeutic choice, prognosis, and treatment response.

Keywords

References

1.Deshmukh V, Motwani R, Kumar A, et al. Histopathological observations in COVID-19: a systematic review. J Clin Pathol. 2021;74(2):76-83.
2.Wang A,Thompson K , Choe E , et al. The Potential Roles of Nuclear Medicine in the Evaluation of Long Haulers from the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Nucl Med. 2021:62(1):2018.
3.Juengling FD, Maldonado A, Wuest F, et al. The Role of Nuclear Medicine for COVID-19: Time to Act Now. J Nucl Med. 2020;61(6):781-782.
4.O''''Malley JP, Ziessman HA. Nuclear  Medicine and Molecular Imaging: The Requisites e-book: Elsevier Health Sciences; 2020.
5.Welt FG, Shah PB, Aronow HD, et al. Catheterization Laboratory Considerations During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: from the ACC''''s Interventional Council and SCAI. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020; 75(18):2372-2375.
Cardiovascular Biomedicine
Volume 2, Issue 2
December 2022
Pages 1-2

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History

  • Receive Date: 02 May 2022
  • Revise Date: 25 February 2023
  • Accept Date: 05 March 2023

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