The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18)F-FDG PET/CT) in the diagnosis of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), a serious complication of solid organ and bone marrow transplant. Between January 2004 and January 2012, 40 patients (22 males; median age 52 ± 17.4 years, range 11-77 years) underwent (18)F-FDG PET/CT scans in our department for diagnostic evaluation of PTLD. Twenty-three (57.5%) patients had negative (18)F-FDG PET/CT and 17 (42.5%) had a positive examination. In five patients PET/CT revealed extranodal disease (adrenal, pleural, spleen, liver, lung, esophagus and bone involvement). On the basis of our results, (18)F-FDG PET/CT had a sensitivity of 88.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.62-0.98), a specificity of 91.3% (CI 0.70-0.98), a positive predictive value of 88.2% (CI 0.62-0.98) and a negative predictive value of 91.3% (CI 0.70-0.98). The diagnostic performance of CT in patient-based analysis was: a sensitivity of 87.5% (CI 0.60-0.97), a specificity of 88.8% (CI 0.64-0.98), a positive predictive value of 87.5% (CI 0.60-0.97) and a negative predictive value of 88.8% (CI 0.64-0.98). PET/CT in five cases revealed more findings than CT, upstaging the disease, and revealed three extranodal findings, not visualized in conventional imaging. (18)F-FDG PET/CT plays a significant role in the setting of PTLD diagnosis, demonstrating its high accuracy in detecting PTLD.

SPECT/CT is a useful tool for the evaluation of painful knee prosthesis in 85.5% of cases and helps in confirming mechanical loosening and in excluding other causes such as infection and patellofemoral osteoarthritis.

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Background: Congenital Hyperinsulinism (CHI) is an important cause of severe and persistent hypoglycaemia in infancy and childhood. The focal form (CHI-F) of CHI can be potentially cured by pancreatic lesionectomy. While diagnostic characteristics of CHI-F pancreatic histopathology are well-recognized, correlation with clinical phenotype has not been established.Aims: We aimed to correlate the diversity in clinical profiles of patients with islet cell organization in CHI-F pancreatic tissue.Methods: Clinical datasets were obtained from 25 patients with CHI-F due to ABCC8/KCNJ11 mutations. 18F-DOPA PET-CT was used to localize focal lesions prior to surgery. Immunohistochemistry was used to support protein expression studies.Results: In 28% (n = 7) of patient tissues focal lesions were amorphous and projected into adjoining normal pancreatic tissue without clear delineation from normal tissue. In these cases, severe hypoglycaemia was detected within, on average, 2.8 ± 0.8 (range 1–7) days following birth. By contrast, in 72% (n = 18) of tissues focal lesions were encapsulated within a defined matrix capsule. In this group, the onset of severe hypoglycaemia was generally delayed; on average 46.6 ± 14.3 (range 1–180) days following birth. For patients with encapsulated lesions and later-onset hypoglycaemia, we found that surgical procedures were curative and less complex.Conclusion: CHI-F is associated with heterogeneity in the organization of focal lesions, which correlates well with clinical presentation and surgical outcomes.

⁶⁸Ga DOTATATE PET/CT is a well-established method in the diagnostic workup of neuroendocrine tumors. We report the case of a 15-year-old adolescent boy with histologically proven appendiceal carcinoid tumor referred for ⁶⁸Ga DOTATATE PET/CT to identify residual or metastatic disease. PET images showed increased tracer uptake in the body of T4 vertebra. This uptake could be misdiagnosed for bone metastasis, but CT characteristic appearance was in keeping with vertebral hemangioma. Both bone metastasis in carcinoid tumor and bone hemangiomas in adolescents are rare conditions, but the combined metabolic and morphological information on PET/CT can lead to the correct diagnosis.