68Ga-DOTATATE Uptake in COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Non-Neoplastic False Positive

In the detection and characterization of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), the NETSPOT 68Ga-DOTATATE positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) utilizes a somatostatin analog to capture whole body imaging of somatostatin receptors. Here, we report a rare case of incidental coronavirus dis...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Joshua P. Weissman, Twyla Bartel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2022-06-01
Series:World Journal of Nuclear Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0042-1750341
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the detection and characterization of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), the NETSPOT 68Ga-DOTATATE positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) utilizes a somatostatin analog to capture whole body imaging of somatostatin receptors. Here, we report a rare case of incidental coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) detection using 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT for a 48-year-old patient with COVID-19 who presented to our nuclear medicine department for oncologic and neuroendocrine indications. Current maximal intensity project image from 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT demonstrated numerous hypermetabolic foci in the upper abdominal lymph nodes, consistent with somatostatin-avid pancreatic islet cell neoplasm. Radiotracer uptake corresponding to the anatomic infiltrates was also seen in the bilateral pneumonia. With the rise of worldwide COVID-19 cases, and the continued use of NETSPOT for somatostatin avid neoplasms, it is imperative that diagnostic measures of this disease are clearly understood. This case highlights the importance of including COVID-19 on the differential diagnosis when radiotracer uptake appears in 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT.
ISSN:1450-1147
1607-3312