Usefulness of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in disease extent and treatment response assessment in a patient with syphilitic aortitis

Clin Nucl Med. 2013 Apr;38(4):e185-7. doi: 10.1097/RLU.0b013e3182638e65.

Abstract

A 40-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for surgical treatment of aortic insufficiency and coronary ostial stenosis. Histopathology and serological tests revealed a syphilitic aortitis. F-FDG PET/CT was performed to assess the extent of aortitis, showing increased radiopharmaceutical uptake along the ascending aortic wall. A repeated FDG PET/CT after antibiotic therapy showed a markedly reduced uptake in the aortic wall, suggesting resolution of the infection according to clinical and serological data. This case highlights the usefulness of FDG PET/CT for the assessment of disease extent and treatment response in patients with syphilitic aortitis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Multimodal Imaging*
  • Penicillins / therapeutic use
  • Positron-Emission Tomography*
  • Syphilis, Cardiovascular / diagnostic imaging*
  • Syphilis, Cardiovascular / drug therapy
  • Syphilis, Cardiovascular / pathology
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed*
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Penicillins
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18