Patterns of Systemic Uptake of 18-FDG with Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) Studies in Patients with Presumed Ocular Tuberculosis

Abstract

Aim: To report the patterns and sites of 18-FDG uptake in patients of presumed ocular tuberculosis.

Materials and methods: The clinical and investigational findings of 11 patients were reviewed retrospectively. These included 6 males and 5 females with a mean age of 46.2 years. 21 eyes were included in the data analysis. Clinical presentations include 15 eyes with anterior uveitis, 2 eyes with retinal vasculitis, 2 eyes with panuveitis and 2 eyes with multifocal choroidopathy.

Results: Two distinct patterns of systemic uptake emerged.

Pattern 1: No detectable systemic uptake (4 patients).

Pattern 2: Detectable systemic uptake.

  a. Chest disease only (2 patients).

  b. Disseminated pattern, uptake seen at multiple sites (4 patients).

  c. Extrapulmonary only (1 patient).

Conclusions: Ocular tuberculosis may often be part of a wider disseminated disease.

Keywords::

• Ocular tuberculosis
• Positron emission tomography
• Computed tomography
• Disseminated tuberculosis

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.