Role of Molecular Imaging in Infection and Inflammation (CE) 2019

The presentation will present the implementation and indication of conventional nuclear medicine techniques that have traditionally been used when evaluating infectious or inflammatory conditions. Newer techniques for evaluating fever of unknown (FUO) with emphasis on FDG PET will be described. The role of FDG in specific infectious scenarios will be discussed including spondylodiscitis, endocarditis, pocket infections and various inflammatory conditions such as Crohn's disease and vasculitis will be presented. A final brief comment on potential future directions with FDG PET in inflammatory/infectious conditions will also be included.

Upon completion of the presentation and with a minimum of 80% proficiency, each attendee will be able to:

1. Have knowledge of various radiotracers used in nuclear medicine for imaging infection or inflammation including their indications and limitations
2. Recognize the impact of FDG in evaluating FUO and its advantages over conventional techniques
3. Understand the role of FDG PET in the evaluation of spondylodiscitis, endocarditis and other processed

• Traditional agents in nuclear medicine used for imaging infection and inflammation
• MDP bone scintigraphy
• Gallium 67 scintigraphy
• Tagged white blood cell imaging
• FUO
• Definition
• Etiologies
• Categories
• The role of FDG PET
• Spondylodiscitis
• Endocarditis
• Pocket infections
• Various inflammatory conditions