PET Imaging of Infection, Inflammation, and Immune-mediated Disease: From Fluorodeoxyglucose to Pathogen-specific and Immune-targeted Tracers
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Updated: Oct 31, 2026

Fluorescence-mediated Tomography for the Detection and Quantification of Macrophage-related Murine Intestinal Inflammation
Published on: December 15, 2017
Faraz Farhadi1, Eren Veziroglu2, Sean Ide Bolet3
1Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Abstract:
PET/computed tomography (CT) is an important tool for evaluating infectious, inflammatory, and immune-mediated diseases when conventional testing is inconclusive. This article reviews the clinical applications of fluorodeoxyglucose-PET/CT in fever of unknown origin, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal infections, large-vessel vasculitis, sarcoidosis, autoimmune disorders, and transplant rejection. Emphasis is placed on practical interpretation, characteristic imaging patterns, and factors affecting diagnostic accuracy, including patient preparation, myocardial suppression protocols, glucocorticoid therapy, and postoperative inflammation. Emerging PET approaches, such as immuno-PET, radiolabeled leukocyte PET, and bacteria-specific tracers, are also discussed, highlighting the shift toward more biologically specific imaging of infection, inflammation, and immune activity.
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