False-negative RT-PCR for COVID-19 and a diagnostic risk score: a retrospective cohort study among patients admitted to hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients with a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 and false-negative SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), and develop and internally validate a diagnostic risk score to predict risk of COVID-19 (including RT-PCR-negative COVID-19) among medical admissions. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Two hospitals within an acute NHS Trust in London, UK. PARTICIPANTS: All patients admitted to medical wards between 2 March and 3 May 2020. OUTCOMES: Main outcomes were diagnosis of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR results, sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and mortality during hospital admission. For the diagnostic risk score, we report discrimination, calibration and diagnostic accuracy of the model and simplified risk score and internal validation. RESULTS: 4008 patients were admitted between 2 March and 3 May 2020. 1792 patients (44.8%) were diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 1391 were SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive and 283 had only negative RT-PCRs. Compared with a clinical reference standard, sensitivity of RT-PCR in hospital patients was 83.1% (95% CI 81.2%-84.8%). Broadly, patients with false-negative RT-PCR COVID-19 and those confirmed by positive PCR had similar demographic and clinical characteristics but lower risk of intensive care unit admission and lower in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.27-0.61). A simple diagnostic risk score comprising of age, sex, ethnicity, cough, fever or shortness of breath, National Early Warning Score 2, C reactive protein and chest radiograph appearance had moderate discrimination (area under the receiver-operator curve 0.83, 95% CI 0.82 to 0.85), good calibration and was internally validated. CONCLUSION: RT-PCR-negative COVID-19 is common and is associated with lower mortality despite similar presentation. Diagnostic risk scores could potentially help triage patients requiring admission but need external validation.

Immunotherapy-related adverse effects on 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging.

18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT imaging plays a key role in oncological imaging including in staging, radiotherapy planning, treatment response and recurrence assessment. Immunotherapies represent a major advance in cancer therapy for a number of tumours with resulting survival benefit. However, a wide range of immune related adverse events (irAEs), some of which can be apparent on imaging, have been reported. These involve many organ systems but particularly endocrine, cutaneous and gastrointestinal systems. Early detection of irAEs is essential to aid diagnosis and management of patients and to reduce associated morbidity. In addition, it is important to not mistake treatment related effects for disease.This pictorial review aims to identify common irAEs and changes seen on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT.

Interobserver agreement of the visual Herder scale for the assessment of solitary pulmonary nodules on 18F Fluorodeoxyglucose PET/computed tomography.

BACKGROUND: British Thoracic Society guidelines recommend 18F Fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/computed tomography (CT) for solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) follow-up in high-risk individuals or if the CT Brock score is >10%. Nodule tracer uptake is assessed visually in comparison to the surrounding lung tissue and mediastinal blood pool (Herder score). This score is used to calculate the risk of malignancy and guide patient management. Despite its widespread use, there have been no studies to date looking at interobserver agreement using the Herder scale. PATIENTS AND METHODS: F-FDG PET/CT studies of 100 consecutive patients imaged for the evaluation of SPN were retrospectively analysed. Anonymized images were reviewed independently by three Consultant Nuclear Medicine Radiologists and the Herder score was documented, along with a confidence score graded 1-3, where 1 indicated 'not at all confident' and 3 indicated 'very confident'. Interobserver agreement was assessed using interclass correlation coefficient modelling. RESULTS: There was complete reviewer agreement in 81% cases, and interclass correlation with Cronbach's alpha was excellent at 0.973 (95% confidence interval, 0.962-0.981). The agreement between pairs of reviewers was good and confidence scores using the Herder scale were high, with reviewers giving a confidence score of 3 in an average of 78% of cases. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests excellent interobserver agreement for use of the Herder scale in evaluating SPNs. Reviewer confidence scores were high reflecting high confidence in the use of the Herder scale for evaluating SPN.

FDG-PET Imaging in Cervical Cancer.

FDG-PET/CT has an established role in the initial staging of locally advanced cervical cancers, particularly in evaluation of nodal disease and distant metastases. It is common practice to perform FDG-PET/CT 3 months postcompletion of chemoradiotherapy as it can predict outcome and be used to tailor management, including adjuvant therapy and follow-up. It is also routinely used prior to pelvic exenterative surgery to ensure there is no disease outside the pelvis. There is growing evidence that FDG-PET-derived parameters are prognostic and could potentially be used to tailor therapy. This review outlines the use of FDG-PET/CT imaging in cervical cancer.

Osteoporosis Circumscripta on 68Ga-DOTATATE PET CT.

Incidental findings on PET CT studies are common. The distribution of Ga-DOTATATE is dependent on cell surface expression of somatostatin receptors, which may be pathologic or physiologic. Osteoporosis circumscripta is the early lytic phase of Paget disease associated with well-defined osteopenia, most commonly seen within the skull on imaging. The appearance has been well demonstrated on Tc HDP/MDP bone scans. Here, we present the case of a 76-year-old man with a small bowel carcinoid tumor who underwent staging imaging with Ga-DOTATATE PET CT with the incidental finding of osteoporosis circumscripta.

The Racoon Eye Sign in the Investigation of Dementia Using 18F-Florbetaben.

Differentiating Alzheimer disease (AD) from other forms of cognitive impairment and from normal aging can be challenging. As a consequence, the diagnosis of AD can be delayed, often occurring too late for meaningful intervention. The role of ß-amyloid plaques in the pathogenesis of AD provides a target for highly sensitive and specific image quantification of amyloid plaque burden using ß-amyloid PET (F-florbetaben). Here we present the case of a 77-year-old woman with increasing memory impairment and striking white matter changes on MRI, with the "racoon eye" sign on F-florebetaben PET imaging.