Prospective evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of FDG-PET/CT for the detection of sternal wound infection post-sternotomy.

Purpose: Sternal wound infections (SWI) are complications of sternotomy and can be divided into deep SWI (DSWI) and superficial SWI (SSWI). In recent years, the use of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in diagnosing infections and inflammation has expanded significantly, with a growing number of clinical indications. This study assesses FDG-PET/CT diagnostic role in DSWI detection, the evolution of FDG uptake intensity in patients without DSWI and the potential biomarkers for DSWIs prediction.