title: Contribution of PET/CT imaging to differential diagnosis of fever of unknown origin.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vasculitis is a collective title for a heterogeneous group of diseases with common signs of inflammation, leukocytic infiltration and necrosis of the vessel wall leading to regional perfusion disturbances. There are many ways to classify vasculitis. Into the group of large-vessel vasculitis we include Takayasu´s arteritis as well as temporal arteritis (giant-cell arteritis) affecting also the aorta and its major branches.
  
  
  METHODS
  FDG PET/CT is a hybrid imaging method combining spatial imaging of metabolic activity obtained by the detection of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) with positron emission tomography (PET) and X-ray computed tomography (CT). While carried out together with PET imaging in the same session, CT imaging is helpful in identifying precisely the anatomical identification of hypermetabolic lesions detected via PET.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this case report we refer to the key contribution of PET/CT imaging to concluding successfully a diagnostic process lasting for a few months and leading to a revelation of large-vessel vasculitis manifesting itself only with systemic inflammation symptoms, i.e. without any clinical signs of specific organ damage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, FDG PET/CT scan is a combined imaging technique which has a remarkable potential in the diagnosis of large-vessel vasculitis. This potential is particularly valued in cases when symptoms of vasculitis are clinically nonspecific and when other non-invasive methods are failing (Fig. 2, Ref. 20).
authors: 1st Department of Internal Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia. halcin@zoznam.sk
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Halcin
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Kinova
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18