The diagnostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in identifying the causes of fever of unknown origin.

Background: This study investigated the clinical significance of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography / computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) in identifying the causes of fever of unknown origin (FUO).

Methods: Patients with a fever who received an 18F-FDG PET/CT examination were retrospectively selected. The means of the two groups were compared using an independent-samples t-test.

Results: Among the 89 included patients, 66 were diagnosed using 18F-FDG PET/CT. The sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT for the diagnosis of patients with FUO were 84.5%, 25.8%, and 64.0%, respectively. The detection rates of 18F-FDG PET/CT for neoplastic diseases, infectious diseases and non-infectious inflammatory diseases were 100%, 61.3%, and 75%, respectively. The difference in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels between the two groups was statistically significant.

Conclusions: 18F-FDG PET/CT has great clinical importance in diagnosing and identifying causes of FUO and improves the accuracy of FUO diagnosis when combined with serum CRP levels.