Role of 2-[18F]FDG as a Radiopharmaceutical for PET/CT in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review

doi:10.3390/ph13110377

Review

. 2020 Nov 10;13(11):377.

doi: 10.3390/ph13110377.

Role of 2-[¹⁸F]FDG as a Radiopharmaceutical for PET/CT in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review

Salvatore Annunziata¹, Roberto C Delgado Bolton², Christel-Hermann Kamani³, John O Prior³, Domenico Albano⁴, Francesco Bertagna⁴, Giorgio Treglia^{3

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Nuclear Medicine Unit, IRCSS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
² Department of Diagnostic Imaging (Radiology) and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital San Pedro and Centre for Biomedical Research of La Rioja (CIBIR), 26006 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.
³ Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁴ Nuclear Medicine, University of Brescia and Spedali Civili Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
⁵ Clinic of Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT Center, Imaging Institute of Southern Switzerland, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland.
⁶ Health Technology Assessment Unit, Academic Education, Research and Innovation Area, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland.

PMID: 33182811
PMCID: PMC7696195
DOI: 10.3390/ph13110377

Review

Role of 2-[¹⁸F]FDG as a Radiopharmaceutical for PET/CT in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review

Salvatore Annunziata et al. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2020.

. 2020 Nov 10;13(11):377.

doi: 10.3390/ph13110377.

Authors

Salvatore Annunziata¹, Roberto C Delgado Bolton², Christel-Hermann Kamani³, John O Prior³, Domenico Albano⁴, Francesco Bertagna⁴, Giorgio Treglia^{3

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Nuclear Medicine Unit, IRCSS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
² Department of Diagnostic Imaging (Radiology) and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital San Pedro and Centre for Biomedical Research of La Rioja (CIBIR), 26006 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.
³ Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁴ Nuclear Medicine, University of Brescia and Spedali Civili Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
⁵ Clinic of Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT Center, Imaging Institute of Southern Switzerland, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland.
⁶ Health Technology Assessment Unit, Academic Education, Research and Innovation Area, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland.

PMID: 33182811
PMCID: PMC7696195
DOI: 10.3390/ph13110377

Abstract

Some recent studies evaluated the role of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (2-[¹⁸F]FDG) as a radiopharmaceutical for positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging in patients with Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). This article aims to perform a systematic review in this setting. A comprehensive computer literature search in PubMed/MEDLINE and Cochrane library databases regarding the role of 2-[¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT in patients with COVID-19 was carried out. This combination of key words was used: (A) "PET" OR "positron emission tomography" AND (B) "COVID" OR "SARS". Only pertinent original articles were selected; case reports and very small case series were excluded. We have selected 11 original studies of 2-[¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT in patients with COVID-19. Evidence-based data showed first preliminary applications of this diagnostic tool in this clinical setting, with particular regard to the incidental detection of interstitial pneumonia suspected for COVID-19. To date, according to evidence-based data, 2-[¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT cannot substitute or integrate high-resolution CT to diagnose suspicious COVID-19 or for disease monitoring, but it can only be useful to incidentally detect suspicious COVID-19 lesions in patients performing this imaging method for standard oncological and non-oncological indications. Published data about the possible role of 2-[¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT in patients with COVID-19 are increasing, but larger studies are warranted.

Keywords: COVID-19; FDG; PET; SARS-CoV-2; fluorodeoxyglucose; infection; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Chemical structure of 2-[¹⁸F]FDG.

**Figure 2**
Flowchart of study selection and search results.

**Figure 3**
Quality assessment of the included studies according to QUADAS-2 tool.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

1. Jarrom D., Elston L., Washington J., Prettyjohns M., Cann K., Myles S., Groves P. Effectiveness of tests to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, and antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, to inform COVID-19 diagnosis: A rapid systematic review. BMJ Evid. Based Med. 2020 doi: 10.1136/bmjebm-2020-111511. - DOI - PubMed
1. Şendur H.N. Debate of Chest CT and RT-PCR Test for the Diagnosis of COVID-19. Radiology. 2020 doi: 10.1148/radiol.2020203627. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
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1. Treglia G. Diagnostic Performance of 18F-FDG PET/CT in Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases according to Published Meta-Analyses. Contrast Media Mol. Imaging. 2019;2019:3018349. doi: 10.1155/2019/3018349. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. McInnes M.D.F., Moher D., Thombs B.D., McGrath T.A., Bossuyt P.M., Clifford T., Cohen J.F., Deeks J.J., Gatsonis C., Hooft L., et al. Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies: The PRISMA-DTA Statement. JAMA. 2018;319:388–396. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.19163. - DOI - PubMed

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[1] Jarrom D., Elston L., Washington J., Prettyjohns M., Cann K., Myles S., Groves P. Effectiveness of tests to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, and antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, to inform COVID-19 diagnosis: A rapid systematic review. BMJ Evid. Based Med. 2020 doi: 10.1136/bmjebm-2020-111511. - DOI - PubMed

[2] Jarrom D., Elston L., Washington J., Prettyjohns M., Cann K., Myles S., Groves P. Effectiveness of tests to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, and antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, to inform COVID-19 diagnosis: A rapid systematic review. BMJ Evid. Based Med. 2020 doi: 10.1136/bmjebm-2020-111511. - DOI - PubMed

[3] Şendur H.N. Debate of Chest CT and RT-PCR Test for the Diagnosis of COVID-19. Radiology. 2020 doi: 10.1148/radiol.2020203627. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Şendur H.N. Debate of Chest CT and RT-PCR Test for the Diagnosis of COVID-19. Radiology. 2020 doi: 10.1148/radiol.2020203627. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Treglia G. The role of 18F-FDG PET for COVID-19 infection: Myth versus reality. Clin. Transl. Imaging. 2020 doi: 10.1007/s40336-020-00367-z. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Treglia G. The role of 18F-FDG PET for COVID-19 infection: Myth versus reality. Clin. Transl. Imaging. 2020 doi: 10.1007/s40336-020-00367-z. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] Treglia G. Diagnostic Performance of 18F-FDG PET/CT in Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases according to Published Meta-Analyses. Contrast Media Mol. Imaging. 2019;2019:3018349. doi: 10.1155/2019/3018349. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Treglia G. Diagnostic Performance of 18F-FDG PET/CT in Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases according to Published Meta-Analyses. Contrast Media Mol. Imaging. 2019;2019:3018349. doi: 10.1155/2019/3018349. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] McInnes M.D.F., Moher D., Thombs B.D., McGrath T.A., Bossuyt P.M., Clifford T., Cohen J.F., Deeks J.J., Gatsonis C., Hooft L., et al. Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies: The PRISMA-DTA Statement. JAMA. 2018;319:388–396. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.19163. - DOI - PubMed

[10] McInnes M.D.F., Moher D., Thombs B.D., McGrath T.A., Bossuyt P.M., Clifford T., Cohen J.F., Deeks J.J., Gatsonis C., Hooft L., et al. Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies: The PRISMA-DTA Statement. JAMA. 2018;319:388–396. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.19163. - DOI - PubMed

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Role of 2-[¹⁸F]FDG as a Radiopharmaceutical for PET/CT in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review

Affiliations

Role of 2-[¹⁸F]FDG as a Radiopharmaceutical for PET/CT in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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