Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Past Issues
    • JNM Supplement
    • SNMMI Annual Meeting Abstracts
  • Subscriptions
    • Subscribers
    • Institutional and Non-member
    • Rates
    • Corporate & Special Sales
    • Journal Claims
  • Authors
    • Submit to JNM
    • Information for Authors
    • Assignment of Copyright
    • AQARA requirements
  • Info
    • Permissions
    • Advertisers
    • Continuing Education
  • About
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Contact Information
  • More
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • SNMMI Journals
  • SNMMI
    • JNM
    • JNMT
    • SNMMI Journals
    • SNMMI

User menu

  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Nuclear Medicine
  • SNMMI
    • JNM
    • JNMT
    • SNMMI Journals
    • SNMMI
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Nuclear Medicine

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Past Issues
    • JNM Supplement
    • SNMMI Annual Meeting Abstracts
  • Subscriptions
    • Subscribers
    • Institutional and Non-member
    • Rates
    • Corporate & Special Sales
    • Journal Claims
  • Authors
    • Submit to JNM
    • Information for Authors
    • Assignment of Copyright
    • AQARA requirements
  • Info
    • Permissions
    • Advertisers
    • Continuing Education
  • About
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Contact Information
  • More
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • SNMMI Journals
  • Follow JNM on Twitter
  • Visit JNM on Facebook
  • Join JNM on LinkedIn
  • Subscribe to our RSS feeds
Meeting ReportGeneral Clinical Specialties

Is Imaging of Bacteria with PET a realistic goal?

Shashi Singh, William Raynor, Mona-Elisabeth Revheim, Babak Saboury, Thomas Werner, Abass Alavi and Søren Hess
Journal of Nuclear Medicine June 2022, 63 (supplement 2) 2677;
Shashi Singh
1University of Pennsylvania
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
William Raynor
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Mona-Elisabeth Revheim
2Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Babak Saboury
3National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Clinical Center
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Thomas Werner
4Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Abass Alavi
1University of Pennsylvania
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Søren Hess
5Hospital Southwest Jutland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
Loading

Abstract

2677

Introduction: Since FDG was introduced as a PET radiotracer, significant efforts have been made to develop other more specific radiotracers and increase spatial resolution from centimeter range to millimeters. Taking it a step further, direct PET imaging of bacterial presence, severity, and progression at the site of infection has gained popularity over the last decades, and this would indeed be clinically desirable. However, there have been mixed experiences among researchers. Through a literature review, we aim to investigate the opportunities and constraints of whether imaging bacteria with PET is a realistic goal or a misconception.

Methods: We searched Google Scholar and PubMed databases for literature on identifying bacteria using PET scans using keywords including “PET, Imaging, Bacteria, and Infection.” We read and analyzed the most cited articles thoroughly in keeping with our objectives and included literature outside this list to ensure that the limitations of studies aiming to identify bacteria with PET were sufficiently covered. We compared the opportunities and limitations of the subject and made results and conclusions based on the data obtained from those articles.

Results: Most infections cause inflammation, which is successfully visualized by 18F-FDG PET, and FDG and PET/CT are already clinically important for the diagnosis of infection, monitoring response to treatment, and overall improving patient care. FDG does not image the microorganism but rather the downstream immune activation. Thus, it is a nonspecific tracer of activated immune cells at the site of inflammation, no matter if the underlying infection is bacterial, fungal, parasitic, or viral. It should be considered advantageous as clinical symptoms are usually nonspecific, and the underlying etiology is usually unknown at the initial workup. Nonetheless, as more specific tracers like radiolabeled white blood cells, [68Ga] citrate, and Ubiquicidin peptides are used clinically, others are being explored at the pre-clinical stage; as most biological molecules can be labeled, researchers are looking for more specific tracers by targeting biochemical characteristics of living bacteria or by labeling antimicrobial agents. However, this may have limited clinical usefulness as specific types of tracers are required for any particular class or group of bacteria, and it is practically impossible to image all patients with a large panel of tracers. Moreover, antibiotic resistance has challenged the use of antimicrobial agents as radiotracers. Further, owing to the physical limitations of PET, a gross imaging modality, the claims of identifying small quanta of bacteria at a cellular and subcellular level are questionable. Hence, it is not surprising that results similar to that of 18F-FDG PET for detecting inflammation have not been achieved by attempts to visualize bacteria with the help of various tracers at the sites of infection directly. Indeed, results of most of these tracers studied in animal models have not been successfully translated to humans, and a recent systematic review found significant heterogeneity in study designs with little or no consensus on a basic methodology which hampers general comparability and applicability.

Conclusions: Specific tracers may have merit in some settings but should not always be too specific as this, together with physical limitations of PET imaging resolution, may limit clinical use. The large number of tracers being investigated for decades to visualize specific types or groups of bacteria directly may provide scientifically interesting knowledge, but until now, with limited success in translating results to humans, in part due to lack of standardization. Thus, the clinical use remains limited presently, and research resources could arguably be put to better use in further exploring the much more versatile FDG.

Previous
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Nuclear Medicine
Vol. 63, Issue supplement 2
June 1, 2022
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Is Imaging of Bacteria with PET a realistic goal?
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Nuclear Medicine
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Nuclear Medicine web site.
Citation Tools
Is Imaging of Bacteria with PET a realistic goal?
Shashi Singh, William Raynor, Mona-Elisabeth Revheim, Babak Saboury, Thomas Werner, Abass Alavi, Søren Hess
Journal of Nuclear Medicine Jun 2022, 63 (supplement 2) 2677;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Is Imaging of Bacteria with PET a realistic goal?
Shashi Singh, William Raynor, Mona-Elisabeth Revheim, Babak Saboury, Thomas Werner, Abass Alavi, Søren Hess
Journal of Nuclear Medicine Jun 2022, 63 (supplement 2) 2677;
Twitter logo Facebook logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • COMMON PEDIATRIC NUCLEAR MEDICINE IMAGING STUDIES: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
  • COVID-19 and Nuclear Medicine: what we know so far…
  • Utility of Depth Correction Calculator for Split Renal Function Studies utilizing prior CT or MRI
Show more General Clinical Specialties

Similar Articles

SNMMI

© 2023 Journal of Nuclear Medicine

Powered by HighWire