The use of hand perfusion scintigraphy to assess Raynaud's phenomenon associated with hand-arm vibration syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the hand perfusion scintigraphic features of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and to compare these with the features of primary and secondary Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

METHODS: Hand perfusion scintigraphy was performed in 57 patients with primary RP, 71 patients with HAVS-related RP, and 15 patients with SSc-related RP. We calculated 6 ratios: chilled to ambient hand and wrist ratios of the first peak height, initial slope, and blood pool uptake. We analysed 3 morphologic characteristics: slow progress pattern, paradoxically increased uptake pattern, and inhomogeneous radioactivity uptake.

RESULTS: All of the 71 patients with HAVS-related RP were mine workers. The chilled to ambient hand ratios of the first peak height, the initial slope, and the blood pool uptake were significantly lower in patients with HAVS-related occupational RP than in patients with primary RP. The presence of a paradoxically increased uptake pattern was significantly lower in HAVS than in primary RP.

CONCLUSIONS: There were significant differences in hand perfusion scintigraphic features between primary RP and HAVS. These results suggest that the underlying pathophysiology of the two diseases differs.