2-[¹⁸F]-FDG PET for imaging brain involvement in patients with long COVID: perspective of the EANM Neuroimaging Committee

Excerpt

With approximately 540 million cases, of which 226 million have occurred in Europe as of the end of June 2022 ( https://​covid19.​who.​int/​), COVID-19 is a global disease. To date, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has significantly impacted the activity of nuclear medicine departments because of the large number of patients infected, including staff caregivers [ 1] and because of the necessary reorganization of medical procedures and hospital circuits [ 2]. Moreover, new disease entities have emerged with long COVID [ 3]. The definition of long COVID has evolved over time with increasing knowledge and the updating of national and international recommendations, particularly aspects concerning the type and duration of symptoms, the time from symptom onset, and the necessity of biological COVID confirmation. Finally, in October 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined long COVID as a condition that occurs in individuals with a history of probable or biologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection ( to not exclude patients without access to tests), initially symptomatic at the acute phase, with numerous symptoms lasting for at least 2 months, usually 3 months from the onset of COVID-19, that cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis ( https://​www.​who.​int/​publications/​i/​item/​WHO-2019-nCoV-Post_​COVID-19_​condition-Clinical_​case_​definition-2021.​1). By affecting approximately 10–15% of patients [ 3], long COVID represents a serious global public health issue. These patients are mostly rather young, previously active, and a majority of women; they potentially present chronic forms with a disability leading to significant medico-economic costs [ 4]. …