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Table 6 Six common practical pitfalls in FDG-PET/CT patient preparation

From: FDG-PET/CT in intensive care patients with bloodstream infection

 

Example

1

Patients continue to receive (medication dissolved in) intravenous glucose shortly before FDG-PET/CT. This can occur especially in ICU patients receiving multiple intravenous solutions

2

All intravenous glucose infusions are stopped appropriately, but enteral nutrition (through a nasogastric tube) is not

3

Patients receive intermediate or long-acting insulin on the day FDG-PET/CT is performed or rapid-acting insulin hours before FDG-PET/CT, either through continuous intravenous infusion or bolus injection

4

All sources of carbohydrates are stopped 4–6 h before FDG-PET/CT, but the treating physicians are specifically interested in the evaluation of endocarditis, and therefore a timeframe of 24 h would have been appropriate

5

Patients are kept in a cold environment shortly before FDG-PET/CT resulting in brown fat activation, especially in children

6

FDG-PET/CT is performed in patients with kidney and/or liver failure, potentially resulting in reduced background clearance, reduced metabolism of FDG, and poor image quality