Mycobacterial Lymphadenitis in a Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patient: Usefulness of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography for Diagnosis and Monitoring the Response to Treatment

Luca Filippi; Barbara Sardella; Orazio Schillaci; Oreste Bagni

doi:10.4103/ijnm.IJNM_125_19

Mycobacterial Lymphadenitis in a Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patient: Usefulness of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography for Diagnosis and Monitoring the Response to Treatment

Indian J Nucl Med. 2019 Oct-Dec;34(4):329-331. doi: 10.4103/ijnm.IJNM_125_19.

Authors

Luca Filippi¹, Barbara Sardella², Orazio Schillaci^{3

4}, Oreste Bagni¹

Affiliations

¹ Nuclear Medicine Unit, "Santa Maria Goretti" Hospital, Latina, Italy.
² Pathology Unit, "Santa Maria Goretti" Hospital, Latina, Italy.
³ Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
⁴ IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy.

Abstract

Lymphadenitis, due to typical or atypical Mycobacterium, is a clinical condition frequently associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Differential diagnosis between benign and malignant causes may be a challenge for clinicians. In this regard, the role of positron emission tomography (PET) with ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) has still not been fully explored. We describe a case of 30-year-old male, infected by HIV, with mycobacterial lymphadenitis, in which ¹⁸FDG-PET and PET-derived parameters resulted useful for guiding diagnosis and monitoring the response to treatment.

Keywords: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography; Mycobacterium; human immunodeficiency virus; lymphadenitis.