Added value of 18F-florbetaben amyloid PET in the diagnostic workup of most complex patients with dementia in France: A naturalistic study

Abstract Introduction Although some studies have previously addressed the clinical impact of amyloid positron emission tomography (PET), none has specifically addressed its selective and hierarchical implementation in relation to cerebrospinal fluidanalysis in a naturalistic setting. Methods This multicenter study was performed at French tertiary memory clinicsin patients presenting with most complex clinical situations (i.e., early-onset, atypical clinical profiles, suspected mixed etiological conditions, unexpected rate of progression), for whom cerebrospinal fluidanalysis was indicated but either not feasible or considered as noncontributory (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02681172). Results Two hundred five patients were enrolled with evaluable florbetabenPET scans; 64.4% of scans were amyloid positive. PET results led to changed diagnosis and improved confidence in 66.8% and 81.5% of patients, respectively, and altered management in 80.0% of cases. Discussion High-level improvement of diagnostic certainty and management is provided by selective and hierarchical implementation of florbetabenPET into current standard practices for the most complex dementia cases.