Superiority of 18F-FDG PET compared to 111In-labelled leucocyte scintigraphy in the evaluation of fever of unknown origin.

AIM: To compare the accuracy of positron emission tomography (PET) using (18)F-FDG (Fluorodeoxyglucose) PET with (111)In-labelled leucocytes scintigraphy (LS) in patients with fever of unknown origin (FUO).

METHODS

Twenty-three consecutive patients with FUO were prospectively studied using whole-body LS and PET. Performance of the two modalities for identifying a cause of FUO was evaluated. Final diagnosis was based on biopsy, microbiological tests, clinical and imaging follow-up.

RESULTS

Abnormal tracer uptake was seen in 3/23(13%) and 14/23(61%) patients on LS and PET respectively, suggesting a higher sensitivity (p < 0.01) for the latter. All LS positive cases were identified on PET and confirmed as infection. The causes of FUO in the other PET positive patients were: infection (n = 3), vasculitis (n = 3), non-infectious inflammatory conditions (n = 2) and cancer (n = 1). No specific diagnosis was reached in 2 patients. Of 13 patients without a definite diagnosis following PET and LS, 10 made a spontaneous recovery during the follow-up period and no definite cause for FUO was found on investigation. Still's disease, Polymyalgia rheumatica and Chronic fatigue syndrome/Myalgic encephalomyelitis were diagnosed in the remaining three patients during follow-up. The results thus showed an overall sensitivity of 86% for PET and 20% for LS (p < 0.01). The overall specificity for FDG PET was 78% as against 100% for LS. PET had a PPV of 86% and a NPV of 78% whereas LS had a PPV of 100% and a NPV of 40%.

CONCLUSION

PET has a higher sensitivity than LS in identifying the aetiology of FUO. PET/PET-CT, where available, should be used as the non-invasive investigation of choice in the assessment of patients with FUO.