[Positron emission tomography: current use in internal medicine and future perspectives].
OBJECTIVE
Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is a promising imaging technique that has already proven effective in modifying patient care in oncology. Fluorodeoxyglucose still remains the main radiopharmaceutical agent routinely used for PET imaging. A growing interest has recently lead to broaden PET research on benign disorders. The field of inflammatory or immune diseases and globally the field of internal medicine could also be impacted by FDG-PET.


RESULTS
Great vessels vasculitides and fever of unknown origin have both been studied by several teams and could become indications for PET. In addition, current indications now extend to paraneoplastic syndromes. It is thus possible to foresee that the clinical applications for PET will continue to expand in these patients.


CONCLUSIONS
In the future, inflammatory arthritis, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, systemic erythematous lupus, histiocytosis, or pulmonary and retroperitoneal fibrosis might benefit from PET even if, available data remains scarce to this day. Although PET will probably alter the landscape of patient management in internal medicine in the near future, additional clinical research is still needed to ascertain the exact role of PET.
Raynaud
F-R
FR
Service de médecine nucléaire et d'imagerie fonctionnelle, hôpital Claude-Huriez, CHRU de Lille, 59037 Lille cedex, France. f-raynaud@chru-lille.fr
Huglo
D
D
Steinling
M
M
D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000639:trends; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18