TY - JOUR
T1 - Role of FDG PET/CT in bacteremia and fever of unknown origin
T2 - a pictorial overview of finding the culprit
AU - Nawwar, Ayah A.
AU - Hess, Soren
AU - Leccisotti, Lucia
AU - Jamar, Francois
AU - Noriega-Alvarez, Edel
AU - Albano, Domenico
AU - Gheysens, Olivier
PY - 2025/3
Y1 - 2025/3
N2 - 18F fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has established itself as a critical diagnostic tool in the evaluation of patients with bacteremia and fever of unknown origin (FUO), particularly following futile conventional investigations. These conditions are often challenging due to diverse underlying etiologies, including infections, inflammatory conditions and malignancies. PET/CT has the advantage of being a whole-body imaging technique with high sensitivity for detecting areas of increased metabolism often associated with infection or inflammation. In bacteremia, [18F]FDG PET/CT can help identify metastatic infections, endocarditis, or abscesses which may be clinically silent and missed on conventional imaging. In FUO, it helps to identify underlying etiologies, directing treatment and management strategies. This review aims to describe the role of PET/CT imaging in these diverse clinical scenarios. Perspectives in the field, including novel equipment and tracers, will be briefly discussed.
AB - 18F fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has established itself as a critical diagnostic tool in the evaluation of patients with bacteremia and fever of unknown origin (FUO), particularly following futile conventional investigations. These conditions are often challenging due to diverse underlying etiologies, including infections, inflammatory conditions and malignancies. PET/CT has the advantage of being a whole-body imaging technique with high sensitivity for detecting areas of increased metabolism often associated with infection or inflammation. In bacteremia, [18F]FDG PET/CT can help identify metastatic infections, endocarditis, or abscesses which may be clinically silent and missed on conventional imaging. In FUO, it helps to identify underlying etiologies, directing treatment and management strategies. This review aims to describe the role of PET/CT imaging in these diverse clinical scenarios. Perspectives in the field, including novel equipment and tracers, will be briefly discussed.
KW - Bacteremia
KW - Fever of unknown origin
KW - Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
KW - Infections
KW - Inflammations
KW - Positron emission tomography computed tomography
U2 - 10.23736/S1824-4785.25.03618-0
DO - 10.23736/S1824-4785.25.03618-0
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 40062801
AN - SCOPUS:105000000421
SN - 1824-4785
VL - 69
SP - 4
EP - 16
JO - Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
JF - Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
IS - 1
ER -