Bmc Infect Dis
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Limited data suggest that fluorine-18 fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (F-18 FDG) positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) scan may be useful for diagnosing infections of the spine. Brucellar spondylodiskitis might be devastating and current imaging techniques lack sensitivity and specificity. The aim of this prospective study was to determine the role of F-18 FDG PET/CT scan in the diagnosis of brucellar spondylodiskitis and in monitoring the efficacy of its treatment. ⋯ Our study suggests that in patients with brucellar spondylodiskitis F-18 FDG PET/CT scan can provide additional information on the spread of the infection, compared to MRI. Successful treatment is associated with a significant decrease in SUVmax values; thus, PET/CT scan may be a complementary method for determining the efficacy of treatment.