[Positron emission tomography in internal medicine].

FDG-PET is now an established diagnostic tool in oncology. Fluorodeoxyglucose is not a specific tracer for malignant lesions but rather for elevated glucose metabolism, present not only in cancer but also in inflammatory and infectious lesions. FDG-PET has thus been suggested for diagnosis of fevers of unknown origin, deep bone or visceral infectious foci, inflammatory vasculitis or sarcoidosis and unknown primary tumors, all frequent situation in internal medicine.

[Accelerated atheroma with prednisone and clopidogrel].

Introduction: Several mechanisms may explain the aggravation of atheroma lesions in patients receiving corticosteroid treatments.

Case: This 68-year-old man, a smoker with high cholesterol levels and a history of two transient ischemic attacks, also had severe Horton disease (giant cell arteritis) requiring treatment by corticosteroids and azathioprine. After a new transient ischemic accident, clopidogrel treatment was initiated.

[Rofecoxib-related cutaneous vasculitis].

Introduction: Drugs are at the origin of around 10% of the cases of vasculitis involving the small vessels. Recent cases report vasculitis related to the administration of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory selective inhibitors of cyclo-oxygenase 2.

Case: Vasculitis associated with ketoprofen appeared in a 76 year-old man: the symptoms disappeared when treatment stopped.

[Rectal endocrine intermediate-cell carcinoma].

An 82-year-old patient complained of diarrhea due to a rectal endocrine intermediate-cell carcinoma. Histology displayed a neuron-specific enolase and CD56 immunoreactive tumor. Hepatic metastases developed rapidly and the tumor was briefly reactive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy.