Calcified Lymph Nodes Causing Clinically Relevant Attenuation Correction Artifacts on PET/CT Imaging

Authors

  • Amar Singh Mehta
  • Ajeet Mehta
  • Charles Laymon
  • Todd Blodgett

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3941/jrcr.v4i2.310

Keywords:

FDG PET, PET/CT, Artifacts, Attenuation correction

Abstract

There are several artifacts unique to PET/CT imaging, with CT-based attenuation correction (AC) artifacts being among the most commonly reported.  AC artifacts from calcified lymph nodes represent clinically significant and easily misinterpreted PET/CT artifacts that have received little attention in the literature.  In this case series, we report three cases of calcified lymph nodes causing an AC artifact and one case of a highly calcified lymph node without an AC artifact. All three cases of calcified lymph nodes causing an AC artifact would have resulted in a change in patient staging, and likely management, if the nodes had been misinterpreted as malignant nodes. In PET/CT imaging, this artifact needs to be considered as a potential cause of apparent FDG activity when calcified lymph nodes are present on the CT portion of a PET/CT study in order to avoid misinterpretation and potential patient mismanagement.

Author Biographies

Amar Singh Mehta

Mailing Address:

341 Darragh St., Apt 305

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Ajeet Mehta

Mailing Address:

341 Darragh St., Apt 305

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Charles Laymon

Mailing Address:

200 Lothrop St.

9 Fl, PET Faculty

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Todd Blodgett

Mailing Address:

200 Lothrop St.

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Inside the musician's brain by Kai-hung Fung demonstrating an artistically rendered 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showing virtual ventriculoscopy.

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Published

2010-01-24

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2010)

Section

Nuclear Medicine / Molecular Imaging

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