Intensity of hypermetabolic axillary lymph nodes in oncologic patients in relation to timeline following COVID-19 vaccination.
J Med Imaging Radiat Sci
; 53(2): 219-225, 2022 06.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1851589
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
First discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) is a highly contagious and deadly novel virus that quickly wreaked havoc throughout the world. As mass vaccination are now underway worldwide, clinicians have started to encounter a new clinical entity, COVID-19 vaccine-associated axillary lymphadenopathy. This presents a unique challenge to medical imagers, particularly in oncologic patients.METHODS:
In this retrospective study, we assessed metabolic activity, size, and timeline of COVID-19 vaccine-associated axillary hypermetabolic lymph nodes in 202 oncologic patients post vaccination with 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18-FDG PET).RESULTS:
When present, COVID-19 vaccine-associated hypermetabolic lymph nodes demonstrate a mean maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) of 2.5 ± 0.3, and more common in younger patients. The metabolic activity is the most intense in the first two weeks post vaccination and diminishes over time. By approximately 5-6 weeks, only about half of the patients demonstrated appreciable, low grade uptake compared to background.CONCLUSION:
Based on our preliminary results, we would recommend correlation with a history and time of vaccination and routine use of a pre-study patient questionnaire to guide interpretation to prevent over-diagnosis of axillary nodal metastases and/or unnecessary work-up in oncologic patients.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19 Vaccines
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Med Imaging Radiat Sci
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.jmir.2022.01.004
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