Dear Molecular Imaging Radiology Insider,
Fevers of unknown origin (FUO) are particularly troublesome and frustrating for clinicians. These are fevers that run higher than 38.3°C (101°F), last more than three weeks, and offer no diagnostic clues despite at least a week of intensive patient investigation. The foci of these fevers often elude MR, CT, x-ray, or ultrasound.
Scintigraphy using 111indium granulocytes has proven useful for imaging infection and chronic inflammatory bowel disease, but its results with FUO have been mixed, according to recent research out of Denmark. FDG-PET imaging, on the other hand, is showing promising results in targeting the focal cause of FUO.
Investigators from Germany and the Netherlands presented the results of their work on the use of FDG-PET for FUO diagnosis at the recent Society of Nuclear Medicine conference in New Orleans. On the basis of their findings, their institutions are currently shifting the diagnostic algorithm to perform FDG-PET early in the diagnostic workup of patients suffering from FUO.
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