scholarly journals Nuclear Imaging in Infective Endocarditis

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Nidaa Mikail ◽  
Fabien Hyafil

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening disease with stable prevalence despite prophylactic, diagnostic, and therapeutic advances. In parallel to the growing number of cardiac devices implanted, the number of patients developing IE on prosthetic valves and cardiac implanted electronic device (CIED) is increasing at a rapid pace. The diagnosis of IE is particularly challenging, and currently relies on the Duke-Li modified classification, which include clinical, microbiological, and imaging criteria. While echocardiography remains the first line imaging technique, especially in native valve endocarditis, the incremental value of two nuclear imaging techniques, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) and white blood cells single photon emission tomography with computed tomography (WBC-SPECT), has emerged for the management of prosthetic valve and CIED IE. In this review, we will summarize the procedures for image acquisition, discuss the role of 18F-FDG-PET/CT and WBC-SPECT imaging in different clinical situations of IE, and review the respective diagnostic performance of these nuclear imaging techniques and their integration into the diagnostic algorithm for patients with a suspicion of IE.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1151-1160
Author(s):  
A.S. Lukashevich ◽  

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to evaluate the diagnostic significance of positron emission tomography / computed tomography with 18F -fluorodeoxyglucose (18F -FDG PET/CT) for the diagnosis of prosthetic endocarditis. Methods of research. The study included 82 patients with suspected prosthetic endocarditis in accordance with the criteria proposed by Duke University [1-5]. The patients received hospital treatment at the State Institution RSPC "Cardiology" from January 2016 to March 2021. The study was of a prospective, non-randomized, single-center cohort design. The duration of the monitor period was 12 months from the moment of patients’ inclusion in the study. Whole-body positron emission tomography / computed tomography (PET/CT) examinations were performed in 82 patients. 27 patients were selected for surgical treatment. Conservative treatment group included 16 patients. 27 patients were selected into the observation group, they were suspected to have prosthetic heart valve infection in the primary referral and underwent PET/CT scanning, according to which the diagnosis of prosthetic endocarditis was excluded. The event under the study did not develop in this group during the year of observation. Results and conclusion. The history of infective endocarditis was not statistically significant and did not increase the risk of developing prosthetic endocarditis in the sample presented. The Duke criteria are less reliable in establishing the diagnosis of prosthetic endocarditis. The median number of days from the date of the first prosthesis implantation to the onset of prosthetic endocarditis was about 4 years. This study revealed that the development of the infectious process in the area of the prosthesis was noted in a more distant postoperative period compared to literature data. Histological confirmation of infection was noted in 100% (27 patients) of cases in reoperated patients. The presence of a more formidable complication such as valve ring abscess located mainly in the projection of the aortic valve ring was quite common in both groups. Presepsin and Interleukin-6 have a statistically significant (U = 394,50 p = 0,01 and U = 94,50 p = 0.004) value in the prognosis of prosthetic endocarditis. Considering the data obtained from ROC analysis, it can be said that the cut-off point at which it is possible to diagnose prosthetic endocarditis based on PETCT is 2.85. The presented methods for the interpretation of whole-body FDG-PET/CT images of patients with suspected infectious complications after cardiac surgery, as well as with the presence of prosthetic endocarditis, show high sensitivity and specificity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (A) ◽  
pp. 970-975
Author(s):  
Ahmed Tawakol ◽  
Maha Khalil ◽  
Yasser G. Abdelhafez ◽  
Mai Hussein ◽  
Mohamed Fouad Osman

BACKGROUND: Accurate staging is important for management decisions in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer. AIM: This study was conducted to evaluate the value of 18 fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging in breast cancer staging.. METHODS: A prospective study of 80 patients (1 male and 79 female) mean age 51.13 years with histologically confirmed breast cancer. The staging procedures included history, physical examination, mammography, and CT of neck, chest, abdomen, and pelvis; then, PET/CT was performed in a time interval <30 days. The findings of PET/CT were compared with those of the other conventional methods. RESULTS: The agreement between conventional methods (mammography, breast ultrasound, contrast-enhanced CT of the neck, chest, abdomen, and pelvis) and 18F FDG-PET/CT was 0.6 for assessing the T stage, 0.39 for N stage, and 0.75 for M stage. There was moderate agreement between CT and 18F FDG-PET/CT in the detection of nodal lesions (K=0.6) and pulmonary lesions (K=0.51), while a perfect agreement was noted for detecting osseous (K=0.82) and liver lesions (K=0.81). In total, 50 patients (62.5%) were concordantly staged between the conventional imaging and 18F-FDG PET/CT, while 30 patients (37.5%) showed a different tumor, node, and metastasis stage. The changes were driven by the detection of additional findings (n=26) or exclusion of findings (n=4), mainly at the lymph nodes (LNs) and/or distant sites. Regarding N status, 18F FDG-PET/CT revealed previously unknown regional lymphatic spread in supraclavicular (n=4; 5%), infraclavicular (n=11; 13.7%), and internal mammary (n=12; 15%) lymph node groups. 18F-FDG PET/CT changed M status in a total of four patients (5%); three of them were upstaged by detecting distant metastases, while osseous deposits were excluded in one patient leading to downstaging. CONCLUSION: 18F-FDG-PET/CT is considered a valuable imaging tool in the initial staging of breast cancer, which significantly impacts the overall American Joint Committee on Cancer staging in 37.5% of our study population.


Diagnostics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1042
Author(s):  
Annachiara Arnone ◽  
Riccardo Laudicella ◽  
Federico Caobelli ◽  
Priscilla Guglielmo ◽  
Marianna Spallino ◽  
...  

In this review, the performance of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in the diagnostic workup of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is evaluated. A comprehensive literature search up to September 2020 was performed, selecting studies with the presence of: sample size ≥10 patients and index test (i.e., “FDG” or “18F-FDG” AND “pancreatic adenocarcinoma” or “pancreas cancer” AND “PET” or “positron emission tomography”). The methodological quality was evaluated using the revised quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS-2) tool and presented according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Basic data (authors, year of publication, country and study design), patients’ characteristics (number of enrolled subjects and age), disease phase, type of treatment and grading were retrieved. Forty-six articles met the adopted research criteria. The articles were divided according to the considered clinical context. Namely, besides conventional anatomical imaging, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), molecular imaging with FDG PET/CT is an important tool in PDAC, for all disease stages. Further prospective studies will be necessary to confirm the cost-effectiveness of such imaging techniques by testing its real potential improvement in the clinical management of PDAC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1016
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Holcman ◽  
Paweł Rubiś ◽  
Agnieszka Stępień ◽  
Katarzyna Graczyk ◽  
Piotr Podolec ◽  
...  

(1) Background: Treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and conduction disorders with the implantation of a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) may lead to complications. Cardiac device-related infective endocarditis (CDRIE) stands out as being one of the most challenging in terms of its diagnosis and management. Developing molecular imaging modalities may provide additional insights into CDRIE diagnosis. (2) Methods: We performed a systematic literature review to critically appraise the evidence for the diagnostic performance of the following hybrid techniques: single photon emission tomography with technetium99m-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime–labeled autologous leukocytes (99mTc-HMPAO-SPECT/CT) and positron emission tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG PET/CT). An analysis was performed in accordance with PRISMA and GRADE criteria and included articles from PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases. (3) Results: Initially, there were 2131 records identified which had been published between 1971–2021. Finally, 18 studies were included presenting original data on the diagnostic value of 99mTc-HMPAO-SPECT/CT or 18F-FDG PET/CT in CDRIE. Analysis showed that these molecular imaging modalities provide high diagnostic accuracy and their inclusion in diagnostic criteria improves CDRIE work-up. (4) Conclusions: 99mTc-HMPAO-SPECT/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT provide high diagnostic value in the identification of patients at risk of CDRIE and should be considered for inclusion in the CDRIE diagnostic process.


Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 1289
Author(s):  
Mio Mori ◽  
Kazunori Kubota ◽  
Tomoyuki Fujioka ◽  
Leona Katsuta ◽  
Yuka Yashima ◽  
...  

We used virtual navigator real-time ultrasound (US) fusion imaging with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) to identify a lesion that could not be detected on the US alone in a preoperative breast cancer patient. Of the patient’s two lesions of breast cancer, the calcified lesion could not be identified by US alone. By fusing US with 18F-FDG PET/CT, which had been performed in advance, the location of the lesion could be estimated and marked, which benefited planning an appropriate surgery. The fusion of US and 18F-FDG PET/CT was a simple and noninvasive method for identifying the lesions detected by 18F-FDG PET/CT.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1629
Author(s):  
Ismaheel O. Lawal ◽  
Gbenga O. Popoola ◽  
Johncy Mahapane ◽  
Jens Kaufmann ◽  
Cindy Davis ◽  
...  

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) have excess risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Arterial inflammation is the hallmark of atherogenesis and its complications. In this study we aimed to perform a head-to-head comparison of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18F]FDG PET/CT) and Gallium-68 pentixafor positron emission tomography/computed tomography [68Ga]Ga-pentixafor PET/CT for quantification of arterial inflammation in PLHIV. We prospectively recruited human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients to undergo [18F]FDG PET/CT and [68Ga]Ga-pentixafor PET/CT within two weeks of each other. We quantified the levels of arterial tracer uptake on both scans using maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and target–background ratio. We used Bland and Altman plots to measure the level of agreement between tracer quantification parameters obtained on both scans. A total of 12 patients were included with a mean age of 44.67 ± 7.62 years. The mean duration of HIV infection and mean CD+ T-cell count of the study population were 71.08 ± 37 months and 522.17 ± 260.33 cells/µL, respectively. We found a high level of agreement in the quantification variables obtained using [18F]FDG PET and [68Ga]Ga-pentixafor PET. There is a good level of agreement in the arterial tracer quantification variables obtained using [18F]FDG PET/CT and [68Ga]Ga-pentixafor PET/CT in PLHIV. This suggests that [68Ga]Ga-pentixafor may be applied in the place of [18F]FDG PET/CT for the quantification of arterial inflammation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuneyt Tetikkurt ◽  
Halil Yanardag ◽  
Burcak Haluk Sayman ◽  
Muammer Bilir ◽  
Seza Tetikkurt ◽  
...  

Sarcoidosis is a chronic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. The disease  most commonly involves the lungs and the mediastinal lymph nodes while extrapulmonary organs such as the skin, eye, liver or spleen may also be comprised. Many imaging modalities have been used for the clinical evaluation of sarcoidosis patients but all have been found to have certain drawbacks for a reliable identification assessment due to the equivocal diagnostic results.  This case series was designed to determine the clinical trenchancy of simultaneous 68Ga citrate PET/CT [Positron emission tomography with 68Ga citrate (68Ga citrate PET/CT)] and 18F-FDG PET/CT [Positron emission tomography with 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18] fluoro-D-glucose integrated with computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT)] imaging in sarcoidosis patients. The main goal of the study was to evaluate sarcoidosis with respect to disease activity and organ involvement. A total of eight sarcoidosis patients with a comorbid disease suspicion were included in the study. Conventional clinical parameters used for  the diagnosis and the activity of sarcoidosis including CT [Computed tomography (CT)] were compared with the 68Ga-citrate PET/CT findings. Concurrent 18F-FDG PET/CT was performed to verify the granulomatous inflammation of sarcoidosis and to determine coexisting malignant or other inflammatory diseases. Our study results revealed that 68Ga citrate PET/CT imaging appears to be highly useful for the diagnosis, activity assessment and extrapulmonary organ involvement in sarcoidosis. Another crucial finding was the detection of extrapulmonary organ disease that are exceptionally involved, almost inaccessible by biopsy and that could not be otherwise displayed by other conventional imaging modalities. The third hallmark was the identification of a clinically asymptomatic and occult malignancy accompanying sarcoidosis that would not be revealed in any way if synchronous 18FDG PET/CT had not been performed. Simultaneous application of 68Ga citrate and 18FDG PET/CT may provide extremely useful data for the clinical evaluation of sarcoidosis patients in terms of the primary disease diagnosis, activity state, extrapulmonary organ involvement unachievable for biopsy and the clinically occult malignant disorders.


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