FDG-PET/CT Identifies Inflammatory Activity and Presence of Fistulas in a Patient with Crohn´s Disease

Crohn's Disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder which can lead to complications like fistulas, strictures and abscesses. It is difficult to differentiate between chronic fibrotic and acute inflammatory processes with current non-invasive and invasive methods. FDG-PET/CT might help to identify active inflammatory processes and morphological information via one examination. It is a case report of a 22 year old woman diagnosed with CD who experienced an abscess of the left psoas muscle after few years which had to be drained. In 2011, she again complained about left side abdominal pain. This case underlines the usefulness of a combined PET/CT study for identifying active inflammatory processes common on patients suffering from Crohn’s disease. Generally it would be optimal to combine the PET and a diagnostic quality CT-E into a single session.