A case of pulmonary tumor embolism diagnosed with respiratory distress immediately after FDG-PET/CT scan

Yuko Ogawa, MD; Koichiro Abe, MD, PhD; Keisuke Hata, MD; Tomoko Yamamoto, MD, PhD; Shuji Sakai, MD, PhD

Radiology Case Reports (Mar 2021)

A case of pulmonary tumor embolism diagnosed with respiratory distress immediately after FDG-PET/CT scan

Yuko Ogawa, MD,
Koichiro Abe, MD, PhD,
Keisuke Hata, MD,
Tomoko Yamamoto, MD, PhD,
Shuji Sakai, MD, PhD

Affiliations

Yuko Ogawa, MD: Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1, Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan; Corresponding author.
Koichiro Abe, MD, PhD: Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1, Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan
Keisuke Hata, MD: Department of Urology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
Tomoko Yamamoto, MD, PhD: Department of Pathology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
Shuji Sakai, MD, PhD: Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1, Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 16, no. 3
pp. 718 – 722

Abstract

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Acute distress immediately following an 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) scan is an exceedingly rare event. We report a case whose condition was suddenly deteriorated in the nuclear medicine laboratory, and whose diagnosis was confirmed by FDG-PET/CT. A 67-year-old woman with left renal cell carcinoma (RCC) suddenly complained of dyspnea and tachycardia just after undergoing FDG-PET/CT. PET/CT images showed increased FDG uptakes in the left renal vein, inferior vena cava, right atrium, and bilateral hila. She was diagnosed with a massive tumor embolism from the inferior vena cava to both pulmonary arteries, and urgently underwent tumor embolectomy. FDG-PET/CT was helpful for diagnosing the tumor embolism and differentiating it from bland thromboembolism in this patient with RCC.

Published in Radiology Case Reports

ISSN: 1930-0433 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General): Medical physics. Medical radiology. Nuclear medicine
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/radiology-case-reports/

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