Tuesday, November 28 | 5:00 p.m.-5:10 p.m. | T8-SSNMMI04-4 | Room E353C
PET/CT imaging in patients after thoracic aortic graft surgery reveals F-18 FDG radiotracer uptake patterns that can indicate infections, according to a presentation in this session.
The findings could have a direct effect on patients leading to more certain diagnoses and reducing unnecessary treatment due to inflammation and infection, noted Lars Husmann, MD, of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, who will present the study.
In 60 patients who underwent aortic dissection and thoracic aortic graft surgery and who were screened with postoperative PET/CT exams (n = 187), focal FDG uptake was frequent (54/60, 90%), generally high (mean SUVmax 6.9, mean SUVratio 2.0), higher in infected than in noninfected grafts (mean SUVratio 2.09 vs. 1.63, p < 0.001), and potentially very slowly decreasing over time, according to the findings.
“Notably, uptake in noninfected grafts is also frequent, not associated with the type of graft material, but uptake patterns may be affected by the use of tissue surgical adhesives,” Husmann and colleagues wrote.
