Background Lung involvement in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) undergoing PET-CT has been previously reported. However, FDG uptake outside lung parenchyma was poorly characterized in detail. We evaluated the extraparenchymal lung involvement in asymptomatic cancer patients with COVID-19 pneumonia through 18 F-FDG PET-CT. Methods A total of 1079 oncologic 18 F-FDG PET-CT were performed between February 2 and May 18, 2020. Confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia was defined as characteristic ground-glass bilateral CT infiltrates and positive genetic/serologic tests. Nonmetastatic extra-parenchymal lung PET-CT findings were evaluated through qualitative (visual), quantitative (measurements on CT), and semiquantitative (maximum standardized uptake value: SUVmax on PET) interpretation. Clinical data, blood tests, and PET-CT results were compared between patients with and without COVID-19 pneumonia. Results A total of 23 18 F-FDG PET-CT scans with pulmonary infiltrates suggestive of COVID-19 and available laboratory data were included: 14 positive (cases) and 9 negative (controls) for COVID-19 infection, representing a low prevalence of COVID-19 pneumonia (1.3%). Serum lactate dehydrogenase and D-dimers tended to be increased in COVID-19 cases. Extraparenchymal lung findings were found in 42.9% of patients with COVID-19, most frequently as mediastinal and hilar nodes with 18 F-FDG uptake (35.7%), followed by incidental pulmonary embolism in two patients (14.3%). In the control group, extrapulmonary findings were observed in a single patient (11.1%) with 18 F-FDG uptake located to mediastinal, hilar, and cervical nodes. Nasopharyngeal and hepatic SUVmax were similar in both groups. Conclusion In cancer patients with asymptomatic COVID-19 pneumonia, 18 F-FDG PET-CT findings are more frequently limited to thoracic structures, suggesting that an early and silent distant involvement is very rare. Pulmonary embolism is a frequent and potentially severe finding raising special concern. PET-CT can provide new pathogenic insights about this novel disease.
Cancer patients require a careful clinical follow-up during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Although hybrid fluorine-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose (
18
F-FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) is not routinely used in the management of COVID-19 patients, it could play a complementary role of other laboratory and radiological data in selected cases. We describe an asymptomatic cancer patient derived to
18
F-FDGPET/CT with simultaneous findings of COVID-19 pneumonia and pulmonary thrombus, discussing its possible mechanisms and prognostic implications.
Sm-153 EDTMP is a good therapeutic option for patients with painful bone metastases. It is an effective treatment of pain relief without major secondary effects.
El feocromocitoma maligno supone el 10-20% de los feocromocitomas (1). Es una neoplasia de mal pronóstico, ya que su supervivencia a los cinco años es del 40% (2). No existen criterios histológicos o bioquímicos para determinar la malignidad de este tumor, y es diagnosticado sólo por demostración de tejido tumoral en localizaciones donde, en condiciones normales, no existen células cromafines, principalmente en huesos, hígado, pulmón y ganglios linfáticos (1,3). El principio básico del tratamiento, siempre que sea posible, es la cirugía, tanto del tumor primario como de las metástasis, así como de las posibles recidivas. Los fármacos antihipertensivos se usan para bloquear los efectos de las catecolaminas mientras que la alfametiltirosina inhibe la síntesis de catecolaminas, pero éstas terapias no inhiben el crecimiento de los tumores. El empleo de radioterapia, que sólo resulta útil a dosis superiores a 40 Gy tiene poco valor en tejidos blandos y es más eficaz en metástasis óseas para el control del dolor o si masas de tumor irresecable producen síntomas locales (4). La quimioterapia, con una combinación de ciclofosfamida, vincristina y dacarbacina, tan sólo tiene una finalidad paliativa, habiéndose descrito unos resultados variables (4,5). Otra alternativa al tratamiento de estos tumores es la utilización de metiliodobencilguanidina marcada con I 131 (I 131 MIBG), radioisótopo que se utiliza desde mediados de los años 80 para el diagnóstico de este tipo de neoplasias (6).
Although predatory events are uncommon to be recorded in nature, these data are important tools for understanding prey-predator interaction of the involved species. Snakes of genus Thamnodynastes are known for having an anuran diet, including some species of hylid frogs in their diet. Despite this, this pattern does not include T. chaquensis since there are no records on predation or trophic interaction with hylid frogs.Here, we report the first predatory interaction between T. chaquensis and two hylid frogs in Brazilian Cerrado. The first predation event with treefrog Boana caiapo occurred with success but, the second with B. albopunctatadid not. Connecting trophic links within an ecosystem requires in-depth knowledge of its species and their intraspecific interactions. In this context, records of the predation and predation attempts such as these may help to connect unknown trophic links, which helps to understand aspects of the natural history of the species involved.
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.