Table 2.
Overview of theoretical arguments in favor or against amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) result disclosure
| Cognitively normal | Mild cognitive impairment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Arguments | Research | Clinic | Research | Clinic |
| Pro | |||||
| Ethical | Patient autonomy | X10,41 | X10,41 | X39 | X5 |
| Evidence of non-maleficence | X10,40,41 | X10,40,41 | |||
| Social and legal | Cost and suffering reduction | X38 | X38 | ||
| Favors Alzheimer’s disease prevention | X10 | X10 | |||
| Psychological and behavioral | Enables early decision making | X10,38,41 | X10,38,41 | X39 | X5 |
| Clarifying effect of correct diagnosis | X38 | X38 | X39 | X5 | |
| Relief related to negative amyloid PET | X38,41 | X38,41 | |||
| Satisfies need for risk information | X41 | X41 | |||
| PET imaging characteristics | Amyloid PET imaging is validated | X39 | |||
| Clinical significance of amyloid PET | X5 | ||||
| Contra | |||||
| Ethical | Non-maleficence | X10,38,41 | X10,38,41 | X39 | X5 |
| Lack of effective intervention | X10,38 | X10,38 | X39 | ||
| Therapeutic misconception | X2 | X2 | |||
| Social and legal | Unwanted personal implications | X38,41 | X10,38,41 | X5 | |
| Social stigmatization | X38,41 | X38,41 | |||
| Psychological and behavioral | Risk of psychological distress | X10,38,41 | X10,38,41 | X5 | |
| Risk of false reassurance after negative PET | X10,41 | X10,41 | X39 | ||
| Misinterpretation of positive amyloid PET | X41 | X41 | |||
| PET imaging characteristics | Challenges related to inconclusive scans | X10,38 | X10,38 | X5 | |
| Limited predictive value at level of individual | X10,41 | X10,41 | |||
| Variation on interpretation of PET results | X10 | X10 | |||