Head-to-Head Comparison of 68Ga-Citrate and 18F-FDG PETCT for Detection of Infectious Foci in Patients with Staphylococcus aureus Bacteraemia

Abstract EN

Purpose.

This study evaluated the potential of 68Ga-citrate positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for the detection of infectious foci in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia by comparing it with 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) PET/CT.

Methods.

Four patients admitted to hospital due to S.

aureus bacteraemia underwent both 18F-FDG and 68Ga-citrate whole-body PET/CT scans to detect infectious foci.

Results.

The time from hospital admission and the initiation of antibiotic treatment to the first PET/CT was 4–10 days.

The time interval between 18F-FDG and 68Ga-citrate PET/CT was 1–4 days.

Three patients had vertebral osteomyelitis (spondylodiscitis) and one had osteomyelitis in the toe; these were detected by both 18F-FDG (maximum standardised uptake value [SUVmax] 6.0±1.0) and 68Ga-citrate (SUVmax 6.8±3.5, P=0.61).

Three patients had soft tissue infectious foci, with more intense 18F-FDG uptake (SUVmax 6.5±2.5) than 68Ga-citrate uptake (SUVmax 3.9±1.2, P=0.0033).

Conclusions.

Our small cohort of patients with S.

aureus bacteraemia revealed that 68Ga-citrate PET/CT is comparable to 18F-FDG PET/CT for detection of osteomyelitis, whereas 18F-FDG resulted in a higher signal for the detection of soft tissue infectious foci.