The "Ant-farm"-like Appearance of Restricted Lower Limb Vasculitis on Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron Emission Tomography
Shintaro Yamamoto1, Tomoyuki Mukai1,2, Shunichi Fujita1
1Department of Rheumatology, Kawasaki Medical School, Japan.
Abstract:
Restricted lower limb vasculitis is a type of localized muscle vasculitis limited to the lower limbs. The usefulness of fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) for the diagnosis of this entity has not yet been reported. We herein report three patients with a fever and persistent lower limb pain. FDG-PET revealed linear and patchy FDG uptakes in their lower limbs. Combined with magnetic resonance imaging and histological findings, they were diagnosed with lower limb vasculitis. Linear and patchy FDG uptakes are considered to reflect the presence of muscle vasculitis. The characteristic "ant-farm"-like FDG-PET images can be a diagnostic clue for the currently overlooked vasculitis.
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