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Purpose: Spain has been one of the most affected countries by the COVID-19 pandemic, being among the countries with worse numbers, including the death rate. However, most patients are asymptomatic, although they are very contagious. The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence in oncological patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 that are asymptomatic for COVID-19 and at home and that undergo PET/CT for oncologic indications, nonrelated to COVID-19, finding in the PET/CT lung alterations that are suggestive of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: During the period of maximum incidence of the global pandemic in one of the most affected regions of Spain, there were 145 patients that met inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the study. Imaging findings previously described such as ground-glass opacities with low [18F]-FDG uptake were considered images suspicious for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients with these findings were referred to RT-PCR testing and close follow-up to confirm the presence or absence of COVID-19. Results: Suspicious lung imaging findings were present in 7 of 145 patients (4.8%). Five of these 7 patients were confirmed as presenting SARS-CoV-2 infection, this is, COVID-19. In the remaining two, it was not possible to confirm the presence of COVID-19 with RT-PCR, although in one of them, PET/CT allowed an early diagnosis of a lung infection related to a bacterial pneumonic infection that was promptly and adequately treated with antibiotics. Conclusion: These results confirm that the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection is higher than suspected and that there are asymptomatic patients that are attending imaging departments to be explored for their baseline oncologic processes. In these patients, PET/CT allows an early diagnosis of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EANM Congress 2009 took place in Barcelona from 10 to 14 October under the chairmanship of Dr. Martin-Comin. As always, the meeting was successful with high-level scientific content and a great number of participants. In spite of the economic crisis, industry made an important contribution presenting new revolutionary equipment and tracers, and in particular the pharmaceutical industry has increased its involvement in our speciality. This article is a brief summary of the major scientific contributions presented at the annual congress 2009, highlighting the fields of nuclear medicine at a higher level of development, including those with an increased clinical impact (especially oncology, but also cardiology, neurology and other clinical sciences), new detectors and multimodality imaging, and those fields showing important progress, including radiochemistry and pharmacy (with the development of new tracers and increased collaboration of industry). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic effectiveness of [18F]FDG-PET in oncological diseases and to assess its clinical utility and impact (on the clinical and therapeutic management of these patients). This health technology assessment was performed in Spain, using the monitored use (MU) procedure. A multicentre and prospective follow-up study was performed in a non-consecutive sample of oncological patients who were examined with PET and other conventional diagnostic tests. A protocol for this MU method (PET-MU protocol) was developed, including the three forms used to collect all the information. Enrolment of new patients began in June 2002 and continued until August 2004. A descriptive analysis and an evaluation of the diagnostic effectiveness of FDG-PET were performed. The study population comprised 2,824 oncological patients (the third form relating to follow-up was completed for only 967 of these patients) from 100 Spanish hospitals and 16 PET centres. Seventy-nine percent of cases met the clinical requirements of the PET-MU protocol. Global diagnostic parameters of PET performance and their 95% CI values were as follows: sensitivity 86% (82–89%), specificity 83% (79–86%), positive and negative predictive values 87% (83–90%) and 82% (77–85%) respectively, diagnostic accuracy 84% (82–87%) and diagnostic odds ratio 28.75 (19.75–41.84). PET detected unsuspected new lesions in 39% of patients and avoided other unnecessary diagnostic techniques and treatments in 69% of cases. In 88% of cases, PET was considered useful by the physicians who asked for the PET tests (it was deemed decisive in 30% and very useful in almost 37%). This PET-MU study has confirmed the high diagnostic effectiveness of FDG-PET for oncological indications and demonstrates that it has a great influence on the clinical and therapeutic management of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the city of Barcelona, Spain. He mentions that Barcelona offers the opportunity to mix work and pleasure, food and wine, fish and meat, mountain and sea. He adds that Barcelona was founded 2,000 years ago wherein Iberians also called the laietanos were the first inhabitants. Moreover, he states that Barcelona will host the European Nuclear Medicine Congress which will offer opportunity to meet with nuclear medicine professionals from other side of the world.