Page 111 - ARNM-3-1

Advances in Radiotherapy &

Nuclear Medicine

BRIEF REPORT
Utility of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose

positron emission tomography in the etiological
diagnosis of unexplained inflammatory

syndromes: A retrospective study of 25 cases

Salah Oueriagli Nabih* , Omar Ait Sahel , Yassir Benameur ,
Meryem Aboussabr , Ikram Zahfir , and Abderrahim Dousouh

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Military Teaching Hospital, University Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco

Abstract

Positron emission tomography integrated with computed tomography using
2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-D-glucose ( F-FDG PET/CT) plays a critical role in the
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localization, diagnosis, and management of infectious diseases and inflammatory
disorders. This hybrid imaging modality provides morpho-metabolic information
*Corresponding author: that aids in defining the etiology of unexplained inflammatory syndromes and
Salah Oueriagli Nabih assessing treatment response. A key advantage of F-FDG PET/CT is its ability to
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(hmimV@gmail.com) provide a comprehensive, “all in one” diagnostic solution, particularly in cases where
Citation: Nabih SO, Sahel OA, localizing symptoms are absent, facilitating the identification of metastatic and/or
Benameur Y, Aboussabr M, septic foci. Recently, there has been increasing recognition among clinicians of its
Zahfir I, Dousouh A. Utility of
fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose potential in diagnosing, characterizing, and assessing inflammatory disorders. This
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positron emission tomography study evaluates the clinical utility of F-FDG PET/CT in identifying the etiology of
in the etiological diagnosis inflammatory syndromes by analyzing 25 patients with unexplained inflammatory
of unexplained inflammatory
syndromes: A retrospective study of disorders. The findings highlight the high reproducibility, sensitivity, and specificity
25 cases. Adv Radiother Nucl Med. of this imaging modality in this context.
2025;3(1):103-108.
doi: 10.36922/arnm.5895
Keywords: F-FDG PET/CT; Unexplained inflammatory syndromes; Predictive values
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Received: November 13, 2024
1st revised: December 16, 2024
2nd revised: January 15, 2025 1. Introduction
Accepted: January 16, 2025
Since its introduction in Morocco in 2010, F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission
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Published online: February 28,
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2025 tomography/computed tomography ( F-FDG PET/CT) has played a crucial role in
the localization, diagnosis, and management of infectious diseases and inflammatory
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article disorders, particularly in cases where paraclinical examinations fail to provide a
distributed under the terms of the definitive diagnosis. Delayed diagnosis in such cases can lead to unfavorable medical
Creative Commons Attribution and economic consequences. The adoption of this hybrid imaging technique has
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, significantly improved the specificity of disease detection. As a result, there has been
provided the original work is a growing interest in employing F-FDG PET/CT for the detection of inflammation
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properly cited. and infections. Notably, the mechanisms underlying F-FDG uptake and metabolic
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Publisher’s Note: AccScience trapping are fundamentally similar in both inflammatory and neoplastic cells. In both
Publishing remains neutral with cases, cellular accumulation occurs due to the upregulation of membrane transporters
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional (GLUT1 and GLUT5), increased cellular energy consumption, and inability to
affiliations. metabolize F-FDG. A comprehensive literature review indicates that the most common
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Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 103 doi: 10.36922/arnm.5895