The dilemma of diagnosing fever of unknown origin: large arteries vasculitis revealed by 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging. A case report

A. De Giorgi, F. Fabbian, M. Pala, V. Bagnari*, R. Tiseo, C. Molino, M.R. Trapassi, A. Boccafogli, F. Portaluppi, N. Prandini**, L. Feggi**, R. Manfredini

Institute of Medical Clinic and Institute of Rheumatology*; Department of Nuclear Medicine**, University of Ferrara (Italy)

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• Nuclear Medicine

Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is an uncommon disease, and its underlying etiology may include a number causes, i.e., infections, malignancies, autoimmune conditions. Diagnosis is often a difficult task, and usually physician spend time and money in order to define the etiology of FUO. We report a case of patient who presented with FUO and headache, and positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18] fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG) allowed to reveal the presence of a large vessel vasculitis. 18F-FDG PET may represent an useful tool in patients with FUO, since it can early depict an hypermetabolic activity due to inflammation and so help to achieve a final diagnosis in some cases of FUO.

Corresponding Author: Roberto Manfredini, MD; e-mail: roberto.manfredini@unife.it

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