¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and post-treatment lung function in adolescent tuberculosis.
7 affiliations
- 1NuMeRI Node for Infection Imaging, Central Analytical Facilities, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 2Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Medical Imaging and Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 3Division of Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 4South African Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 5School for Data Science and Computational Thinking, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 6Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 7Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Abstract
Background
Data on post-tuberculosis outcomes in adolescents are scarce. Although fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has been used in adult tuberculosis research, little is known about the association between PET/CT findings and functional outcomes in general.Methods
Early FDG PET/CT images of 50 adolescents (31 female, median age 17.2 years) with confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis were read visually and quantitative data of disease burden (total lung volume, cavity volume, total hard volume and total glycolytic activity (TGA)) were extracted and tested for associations with clinical risk factors and spirometry measures after treatment completion.Findings
Involvement of three or more lobes was present in 66% of adolescents, with consolidation in 84%, nodules in 92% and cavities in 84%. Comparatively, smokers had lower TGA values (p=0.034). Larger cavity volume was the strongest predictor of reduced forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁) and forced vital capacity (FVC) post treatment (β=-1.78- -0.87; p=0.0024-0.047). Corrected total hard volume and corrected TGA were associated with FEV₁ and FVC z-scores, although no individual predictor coefficients survived correction for multiple comparisons.Interpretation
PET/CT features in this adolescent cohort matched patterns described in adults and were frequently severe. Radiological severity measures were associated with poorer spirometry after treatment. More data, including longitudinal imaging and functional outcomes, are required to better understand pathophysiology in this age group.
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BibTeX
@article{doruyter2026¹⁸ffdg,
title = {{¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and post-treatment lung function in adolescent tuberculosis.}},
author = {Alex G G Doruyter and Elizna Maasdorp and Marieke M van der Zalm and Andriëtte M Hiemstra and Megan Palmer and Stephanus T Malherbe and James A Seddon},
journal = {ERJ open research},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1183/23120541.00484-2026},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42899101},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and post-treatment lung function in adolescent tuberculosis.
AU - Alex G G Doruyter
AU - Elizna Maasdorp
AU - Marieke M van der Zalm
AU - Andriëtte M Hiemstra
AU - Megan Palmer
AU - Stephanus T Malherbe
AU - James A Seddon
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - ERJ open research
DO - 10.1183/23120541.00484-2026
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42899101
AB - Background Data on post-tuberculosis outcomes in adolescents are scarce. Although fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has been used in adult tuberculosis research, little is known about the association between PET/CT findings and functional outcomes in general.Methods Early FDG PET/CT images of 50 adolescents (31 female, median age 17.2 years) with confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis were read visually and quantitative data of disease burden (total lung volume, cavity volume, total hard volume and total glycolytic activity (TGA)) were extracted and tested for associations with clinical risk factors and spirometry measures after treatment completion.Findings Involvement of three or more lobes was present in 66% of adolescents, with consolidation in 84%, nodules in 92% and cavities in 84%. Comparatively, smokers had lower TGA values (p=0.034). Larger cavity volume was the strongest predictor of reduced forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁) and forced vital capacity (FVC) post treatment (β=-1.78- -0.87; p=0.0024-0.047). Corrected total hard volume and corrected TGA were associated with FEV₁ and FVC z-scores, although no individual predictor coefficients survived correction for multiple comparisons.Interpretation PET/CT features in this adolescent cohort matched patterns described in adults and were frequently severe. Radiological severity measures were associated with poorer spirometry after treatment. More data, including longitudinal imaging and functional outcomes, are required to better understand pathophysiology in this age group.
SN - 2312-0541
ER -