The chronic inflammation observed in the wall of asymptomatic AAAs was not sufficiently metabolically active to result in an increased glucose metabolism detectable by FDG-PET by means of this standard protocol. To study the importance of inflammation in the pathogenesis of AAAs in vivo, PET tracers other than FDG need to be developed.
Functional in vivo molecular imaging is provided with 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), which can detect cells with high glucose turnover. FDG-PET is an established imaging tool in oncology but has also been used in infectious and inflammatory diseases. PET combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) shows the metabolic activity with precise anatomic localization. More than 2000 scanners have now been installed worldwide, and with better availability, this hybrid method has the potential to become an important imaging tool in the management of suspected aortic graft infections, especially in patients with low-grade graft infection. We report a patient with a suspected aortic graft infection that was confirmed and anatomically localized by FDG-PET/CT. An extra-anatomic bypass and extirpation of the aortic graft was performed. The perioperative location of the graft infection coincided exactly with the place of FDG uptake shown on PET/CT. The patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery and did well during 6 months of follow-up.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.