title: Evaluating brain death with positron emission tomography: case report on dynamic imaging of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose activity after intravenous bolus injection.
abstract: A dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) study of the head was performed over 1 hour after the intravenous bolus administration of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) to a 18-year-old patient with the clinical diagnosis of brain death. This dynamic PET study was performed on the seventh day after a severe posttraumatic closed-head injury. No intracerebral uptake or retention of tracer was noted, consistent with a diffuse absence of brain metabolism. A small amount of tracer was noted to slowly rise over time within the sagittal sinus, indicating that visualization of sagittal sinuses on technetium 99m-diethylene-triaminepentaacetic acid planar images could provide a falsely negative scintigraphic evaluation for the presence of brain death. It is concluded that PET FDG imaging may be a useful technique in evaluating patients for brain death.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Imaging Center, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D001926:Brain Death / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003392:Cranial Sinuses / Q000378:metabolism; D003847:Deoxyglucose / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D016489:Head Injuries, Closed / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed
chemical_list: D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D003847:Deoxyglucose; D016284:Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate