F-18 FDG PET/CT as a One-Stop Shop Imaging Modality for Assessment of Neurologic and Pulmonary Manifestations of COVID-19

Abbas Yousefi-Koma; Farahnaz Aghahosseini; Hannaneh Yousefi-Koma; Alireza Roohizadeh; Mojgan Panahmoghaddam

F-18 FDG PET/CT as a One-Stop Shop Imaging Modality for Assessment of Neurologic and Pulmonary Manifestations of COVID-19

Tanaffos. 2023 Jan;22(1):172-175.

Authors

Abbas Yousefi-Koma¹, Farahnaz Aghahosseini¹, Hannaneh Yousefi-Koma², Alireza Roohizadeh¹, Mojgan Panahmoghaddam¹

Affiliations

¹ Chronic Respiratory Disease Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

PMID: 37920311
PMCID: PMC10618579

Abstract

Neurologic manifestations are now being increasingly encountered in patients who are admitted for respiratory symptoms of COVID-19. A 67-year-old male with a recent history of Wernicke's aphasia was referred to the nuclear medicine department for risk stratification of malignancy in pulmonary nodule by 18F-FDG PET-CT scan. PET-CT revealed decreased metabolic activity in the left temporoparietal lobe of the brain consistent with recent CVA and excluded malignancy in the pulmonary nodule with low-grade metabolic activity. Incidentally noted, new bilateral pulmonary hypermetabolic ground glass opacities rising suspicious for covid-19 infection which was confirmed by PCR of nasopharyngeal mucosa sample. These findings highlight the value of 18FFDG PET-CT in the assessment of COVID-19 infection especially in non-pulmonary presentations like early neurologic manifestation.

Keywords: COVID-19; PCR; PET-CT scan; Wernicke’s aphasia.

Publication types

Case Reports