COVID-19: Findings in nuclear medicine from head to toe.

Clin Imaging

Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114, United States.

Published: July 2023

AI Article Synopsis

  • - COVID-19 can affect multiple body systems, and its impact on nuclear medicine imaging can go beyond just the lungs, necessitating awareness from nuclear medicine physicians.
  • - While FDG-PET/CT isn't typically used for COVID-19 evaluations, it can help monitor the disease's effects due to its ability to assess the entire body functionally and anatomically.
  • - Common nuclear imaging findings related to COVID-19 vaccination include hypermetabolic axillary lymphadenopathy, which can complicate diagnoses and management in cancer patients, especially those with related lymphatic issues.

Article Abstract

COVID-19 is a multisystemic disease, and hence its potential manifestations on nuclear medicine imaging can extend beyond the lung. Therefore, it is important for the nuclear medicine physician to recognize these manifestations in the clinic. While FDG-PET/CT is not indicated routinely in COVID-19 evaluation, its unique capability to provide a functional and anatomical assessment of the entire body means that it can be a powerful tool to monitor acute, subacute, and long-term effects of COVID-19. Single-photon scintigraphy is routinely used to assess conditions such as pulmonary embolism, cardiac ischemia, and thyroiditis, and COVID-19 may present in these studies. The most common nuclear imaging finding of COVID-19 vaccination to date is hypermetabolic axillary lymphadenopathy. This may pose important diagnostic and management dilemmas in oncologic patients, particularly those with malignancies where the axilla constitutes a lymphatic drainage area. This article aims to summarize the relevant literature published since the beginning of the pandemic on the intersection between COVID-19 and nuclear medicine.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10081937PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinimag.2023.04.003DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

nuclear medicine
16
covid-19
7
nuclear
5
covid-19 findings
4
findings nuclear
4
medicine
4
medicine head
4
head toe
4
toe covid-19
4
covid-19 multisystemic
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!