ArticleRheumatology international2026
Clinical and laboratory predictors of diagnostic efficacy of
Article in Rheumatology international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of 2-[¹⁸F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT) in rheumatology, identifying clinical and laboratory predictors of significant findings in patients with ambiguous aetiologies or established rheumatic diseases.
methodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 128 patients (Group A: n = 60; etiological investigation; Group B: n = 68; established rheumatic diseases) who underwent
results¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scans were helpful in reaching a final diagnosis in 53.9% (n = 69) of patients. The most common diagnoses were malignancy (26%, n = 18), flare-ups (18.8%, n = 13), localized inflammatory findings (17.4%, n = 12), and vasculitis (13%, n = 9). Multivariate analysis identified symptom duration (Group A: odds ratio [OR] = 1.86, p < 0.001; Group B: OR = 2.64, p = 0.004) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels (per 10 U/L increase; Group A: OR = 1.64, p = 0.001; Group B: OR = 2.99, p = 0.015) as independent predictors. ROC analysis, with cut-off determined by the Youden index, showed that LDH > 251.5 U/L (AUC: 0.888) and symptom duration > 7.45 weeks (AUC: 0.841) had high accuracy in Group A. Group B demonstrated even greater predictive power for symptom duration > 7.31 weeks (AUC: 0.945) and LDH > 264 U/L (AUC: 0.927) (p < 0.001). DeLong's test confirmed that LDH and symptom duration provided similar diagnostic value, with no significant difference in their AUC values between Groups A and B (p = 0.551 and p = 0.670, respectively).
conclusion¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT is a valuable diagnostic tool in rheumatology, particularly for detecting occult malignancies and vasculitis. Symptom duration > 7 weeks and elevated LDH levels are significant, independent predictors of diagnostic yield, potentially optimising patient selection for molecular imaging.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42262614What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.