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Case Reports
. 2020 Sep 16;12(9):e10479.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.10479.

Hot Aortic Nodules

Erik Soule  1 , Quoc-Han Nguyen  1 , Mario Dervishi  1 , Jerry Matteo  1 , Savas Ozdemir  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Hot Aortic Nodules

Erik Soule et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Morbidity of the dreaded thrombotic complications of atherosclerosis such as cerebrovascular accident and myocardial infarction may be severe. Early detection of fulminant disease is therefore important for risk stratification and selecting a treatment strategy. In this report we present four patients in which 18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake was identified in atherosclerotic plaques at positron emission tomography, performed for other indications. The study aims to showcase the potential implications of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose avid plaques, which may be otherwise overlooked at positron emission tomography. Early detection may aid in prevention of complications of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease through aggressive lifestyle modification, as well as pharmacologic or other intervention, such as endovascular atherectomy.

Keywords: atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; cerebrovascular accident (stroke); fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography; inflammatory plaques; myocardial infarction; plaque rupture.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Axial (A), coronal (B), and sagittal (C) computed tomography images demonstrating a large pseudoaneurysm of the left internal carotid artery (white arrows).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Axial positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion image (A), axial computed tomography image (B), coronal (C), and sagittal (D) positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion images demonstrating a fluorodeoxyglucose avid atherosclerotic plaque in the region of the descending aorta (white arrows).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Axial (A), sagittal (B), and coronal (C) positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion images demonstrating fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the region of the operative bed (white arrows).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Axial (A), coronal (B), and sagittal (C) computed tomography images demonstrate a partially thrombosed abdominal aortic aneurysm (white arrows).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Axial positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion image (A), axial computed tomography image (B), coronal (C), and sagittal (D) positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion images demonstrating a fluorodeoxyglucose avid atherosclerotic plaque in the region of the aortic root (white arrows).
Figure 6
Figure 6. Axial (A), coronal (B), and sagittal (C) computed tomography images demonstrating encephalomalacia in the right cerebellar hemisphere consistent with prior infarct (white arrows).
Figure 7
Figure 7. Axial positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion image (A), axial computed tomography image (B), coronal (C), and sagittal (D) positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion images demonstrating a fluorodeoxyglucose avid atherosclerotic plaque in the region of the aortic arch (white arrows).
Figure 8
Figure 8. Axial positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion image (A), axial computed tomography image (B), coronal (C), and sagittal (D) positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion images demonstrating fluorodeoxyglucose avid atherosclerotic plaques in the regions of the aortic bifurcation, aortic arch, and left carotid (white arrows).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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