Simplified protocol of cardiac 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography viability study in normoglycemic patients with known coronary artery disease

PurposeThe purpose was to evaluate quality of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET) myocardial scans and its correlation with background glucose (BG) after simplified 5% intravenous glucose load protocol.MethodsAn intravenous glucose load protocol was applied in 69 normoglycemic patients with confirmed coronary artery disease. The blood glucose level was measured every 15 min.ResultsEighty-four percent of images were optimal, 8.7% suboptimal, and 7.3% uninterpretable. The quality of 18F-FDG-PET was BG independent and body mass index dependent (P= .0007).ConclusionsSimplified glucose load protocol is a safe and efficient method of preparation for FDG cardiac viability study in patients with normoglycemia.