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Coronaviruses

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 2666-7967
ISSN (Online): 2666-7975

Case Report

COVID-19: How Nuclear Medicine Can Provide A Differential Diagnosis In A Very Dubious Case

Author(s): Maria Silvia De Feo, Viviana Frantellizzi* and Giuseppe De Vincentis

Volume 2, Issue 7, 2021

Published on: 09 December, 2020

Article ID: e230621188924 Pages: 3

DOI: 10.2174/2666796701999201209142919

Abstract

Background: We present the case of a 55-year-old woman, admitted to the Infectious Disease Department of Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, in mid-March 2020, with suspicion of COVID-19 infection.

Objective: The rRT-PCR was negative, and the following CT scan, performed to exclude false-negative results and help diagnosis, was inconclusive.

Methods: It was decided to submit the patient to a 99mTc-HMPAO-labelled leukocyte scan.

Results: This exam led to the diagnosis of infective endocarditis.

Conclusion: In the present pandemic scenario, 99mTc-HMPAO-labelled leukocyte scan represents a reliable imaging technique for differential diagnosis with COVID-19 in patients with confusing clinical signs, possible false-negative rRT-PCR results, and inconclusive CT scan.

Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, 99mTc-HMPAO-labelled leukocyte, differential diagnosis, FUO, CT scan.

Graphical Abstract
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