Increased 18F-FDG Uptake in the Axillary Lymph Nodes of the Vaccinated Side Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination

Yoichi Otomi; Saho Irahara; Hiroaki Inoue; Takayoshi Shinya; Hideki Otsuka; Masafumi Harada

doi:10.4274/mirt.galenos.2021.22590

Increased ¹⁸F-FDG Uptake in the Axillary Lymph Nodes of the Vaccinated Side Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination

Mol Imaging Radionucl Ther. 2022 Jun 27;31(2):169-171. doi: 10.4274/mirt.galenos.2021.22590.

Authors

Yoichi Otomi¹, Saho Irahara¹, Hiroaki Inoue², Takayoshi Shinya¹, Hideki Otsuka¹, Masafumi Harada¹

Affiliations

¹ Tokushima University, Department of Radiology, Tokushima, Japan.
² Tokushima University, Department of Thoracic and Endocrine Surgery and Oncology, Tokushima, Japan.

Abstract
in English, Turkish

A 50-year-old female patient underwent (¹⁸fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) following modified radical mastectomy for cancer of the left breast. Ten days before the PET/CT, the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccine was injected intramuscularly into the right deltoid muscle. Increased (¹⁸F-FDG uptake of maximum standardized uptake value (11.0) was observed in the lymph nodes of the right axilla, which had not been observed in the previous PET/CT. The size of the oval-shaped lymph nodes was up to approximately 11×9 mm; however, it was larger than that observed on the previous PET/CT. We contemplate that the increased (¹⁸F-FDG uptake was a reactive change in the lymph nodes associated with the COVID-19 vaccine.

Elli yaşında kadın hastaya sol meme kanseri nedeniyle modifiye radikal mastektomi sonrası ¹⁸flor-florodeoksiglukoz (¹⁸F-FDG) pozitron emisyon tomografisi/bilgisayarlı tomografi (PET/BT) uygulandı. PET/BT’den 10 gün önce, koronavirüs hastalığı-2019 (COVID-19) aşısı sağ deltoid kas içine enjekte edildi. Daha önceki PET/BT’de izlenmeyen, sağ aksilla lenf nodlarında maksimum standardize alım değeri (11,0) ¹⁸F-FDG tutulumu artışı gözlendi. Oval şekilli lenf nodlarının boyutu yaklaşık olarak 11x9 mm’ye kadardı; ancak önceki PET/BT’de gözlemlenenden daha büyüktü. Artan ¹⁸F-FDG tutulumunun, COVID-19 aşısıyla ilişkili olarak lenf nodlarındaki reaktif bir değişiklik olduğunu düşünüyoruz.

Keywords: 18F-FDG PET/CT; COVID-19; vaccination.

Abstract in English, Turkish

Abstract
in English, Turkish