Objectives: Vascular graft infections (VGIs) are life-threatening complications after prosthetic vascular surgery. It remains a diagnostic challenge due to nonspecific clinical presentations. This study evaluates the diagnostic performance of 18 F-fludeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in identifying VGIs and guiding clinical management. Material and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted on 39 patients with clinical suspicion of VGI. All underwent 18 F-FDG PET/CT imaging. Diagnostic findings were compared with surgical, histopathological, microbiological, and clinical follow-up data to determine accuracy. Results: PET/CT demonstrated a sensitivity of 96.6%, specificity of 80.0%, positive predictive value of 93.3%, and negative predictive value of 88.9%. In 84% of patients, PET/CT findings directly altered clinical management. The optimal standardized uptake value max threshold was found to be > 4.5. Conclusion: 18 F-FDG PET/CT is a robust, noninvasive modality with high diagnostic accuracy in detecting VGIs. It also precisely describes the extent of involvement and provides critical insight for diagnosis as well as treatment planning and should be considered a potential gold standard in suspected cases.
Jain et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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