title: Isolated thymic Langerhans cell histiocytosis discovered on F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18 FDG PET/CT).
abstract: The thymic infiltration in young patients with multisystemic Langerhans cell histiocytosis and its radiologic features are well known. However, isolated thymic disease has seldom been reported in the literature. We report the case of a 10-month-old child admitted for fever of unknown origin. Whole-body F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18 FDG PET/CT) was performed to identify a focus of infection. It demonstrated an unusual aspect of the thymus, which led to further investigation and revealed isolated infiltration of the thymus by Langerhans cell histiocytosis. The patient was treated accordingly and is now disease free. As evaluation of Langerhans cell histiocytosis patients with F-18 FDG PET/CT is becoming more frequent, it is important to be aware of the scintigraphical characteristics of thymic Langerhans cell histiocytosis.
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine, CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, H3T 1C5, Canada. turpinsop@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Turpin
authors.affiliation: Hemato-Oncology, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Anne-Sophie
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Carret
authors.affiliation: Radiology, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Josée
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dubois
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buteau
authors.affiliation: Pathology, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Patey
mesh_terms: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006646:Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
keywords: Child; F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18 FDG PET/CT); Langerhans cell histiocytosis; Thymus; Ultrasound