REVIEW  FDG PET/CT FOR INFECTION AND INFLAMMATION: A PRACTICAL APPROACH Free access

The Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2025 March;69(1):17-29

DOI: 10.23736/S1824-4785.25.03619-2

Copyright © 2025 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Spondylodiscitis

Edel NORIEGA-ÁLVAREZ ¹ ✉, Ringo MANTA ², Andor W. GLAUDEMANS ³, Olivier GHEYSENS ², Virginia PEIRÓ ⁴

¹ Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Spain; ² Department of Nuclear Medicine, Saint-Luc University Clinic and Institute of Clinical and Experimental Research (IREC), Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium; ³ Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University Medical Center of Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; ⁴ Department of Diagnostic Imaging, University Hospital of Fuenlabrada, Fuenlabrada, Spain

Diagnosis of spondylodiscitis remains a challenge for clinicians. It results from various causative agents and conditions that can be challenging to identify. Prompt and appropriate treatment are necessary to prevent long-term irreversible complications and sequelae. The diagnosis of spondylodiscitis often constitutes a major challenge for the clinicians, and relies on the combination of clinical, laboratory and imaging findings. Various imaging techniques can be used for the workup of spondylodiscitis, with magnetic resonance imaging and 18-fluoro-deoxy-glucose positron emission tomography, combined with a CT being the most commonly used in daily practice. The aim of this review is to provide general information about indications and protocols for [¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT imaging in spinal infections, focusing on spondylodiscitis, in adults.

KEY WORDS: Discitis; Positron emission tomography computed tomography; Spine; infection; Osteomyelitis