COVID-19 Vaccination Manifesting as Incidental Lymph Nodal Uptake on 18F-FDG PET/CT

Najeeb Ahmed, Samreen Muzaffar, Corinne Binns, Muhammad Waqas Ilyas, Sharjeel Usmani

2021Clinical Nuclear Medicine24 citationsDOI

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Benign uptake on 18F-FDG PET can be seen with inflammatory conditions. We report a case of an 86-year-old woman with successfully treated nasal melanoma who underwent routine follow-up 18F-FDG PET, day 6 after the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine inoculated in the left deltoid muscle. 18F-FDG PET showed increase tracer uptake in the left deltoid muscle and in 2 normal-sized left subpectoral nodes. These findings were considered secondary to vaccination. With the current drive of global COVID-19 immunization, this case highlights the importance of documenting vaccination history at the time of scanning to avoid false-positive results.

Topics & Concepts

MedicineVaccinationCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Deltoid curveNuclear medicineLymphDeltoid musclePositron emission tomographyPositron Emission Tomography-Computed TomographySevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)RadiologyPathologySurgeryDiseaseInfectious disease (medical specialty)Lymphadenopathy Diagnosis and AnalysisLung Cancer Diagnosis and TreatmentLymphoma Diagnosis and Treatment