Active shingles infection as detected on 18F-FDG PET/CT

We present the case of a 56 year old male with a history of recurrent follicular lymphoma undergoing chemotherapy with multiple 18F-FDG PET-CT studies at an outside facility. He developed a painful erythematous, pruritic rash in the left back requiring a visit to the emergency room. He was diagnosed...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Razi eMuzaffar, Mark eFesler, Medhat M Osman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2013-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fonc.2013.00103/full
Description
Summary:We present the case of a 56 year old male with a history of recurrent follicular lymphoma undergoing chemotherapy with multiple 18F-FDG PET-CT studies at an outside facility. He developed a painful erythematous, pruritic rash in the left back requiring a visit to the emergency room. He was diagnosed and treated for varicella zoster infection. He then presented to our imaging center 2 months later for a follow up 18F-FDG PET/CT study. Imaging demonstrated a cutaneous band of increased metabolic activity in the upper back following a dermatomal distribution. This was confirmed to be in the same area as the treated varicella zoster eruption. A subsequent follow up 18F-FDG PET-CT scan 4 months later to confirm tumor resolution demonstrated the abnormal band of uptake in the back had resolved. This case illustrates the significance of being aware of this entity and to distinguish it from metastasis, especially in patients with a known history of malignancy.
ISSN:2234-943X