RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography / Computed Tomography in Left-Ventricular Assist Device Infection: Initial Results Supporting the Usefulness of Image-Guided Therapy JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO J Nucl Med FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP jnumed.119.237628 DO 10.2967/jnumed.119.237628 A1 Sommerlath Sohns, Jan A1 Kroehn, Hannah A1 Schoede, Alexandra A1 Derlin, Thorsten A1 Haverich, Axel A1 Schmitto, Jan A1 Bengel, Frank M. YR 2019 UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/early/2019/12/03/jnumed.119.237628.abstract AB Background: Accurate definition of the extent and severity of left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) infection may facilitate therapeutic decision making and targeted surgical intervention. Here, we explore the value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for guidance of patient management. Methods: Fifty-seven LVAD-carrying patients received 85 whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT scans for the work-up of device infection. Clinical follow-up was obtained over a period of up to two years. Results: PET/CT showed various patterns of infectious involvement of the 4 LVAD components: driveline entry point (77% of cases), subcutaneous driveline path (87%), pump pocket (49%) and outflow tract (58%). Driveline smears revealed staphylococcus or pseudomonas strains as the underlying pathogen in a majority of cases (48 and 34%, respectively). At receiver-operating characteristics analysis, an 18F-FDG standardized uptake value (SUV) >2.5 was most accurate to identify smear-positive driveline infection. Infection of 3 or all 4 LVAD components showed a trend towards lower survival vs infection of 2 or less components (P = 0.089), while involvement of thoracic lymph nodes was significantly associated with adverse outcome (P = 0.001 for nodal SUV above vs below median). Finally, patients that underwent early surgical revision within 3 months after PET/CT (n = 21) required significantly less inpatient hospital care during follow-up when compared to those receiving delayed surgical revision (n = 11; p<0.05). Conclusion: Whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT identifies the extent of LVAD infection and predicts adverse outcome. Initial experience suggests that early image-guided surgical intervention may facilitate a less complicated subsequent course.