Positron emission tomography/computed tomography
Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), which is an image fusion about PET and CT, can provide both anatomy structure and function information. 18F-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG), which can reflect glucose metabolism and find the abnormal part, is the common tracer of PET/CT. Although18F-FDG PET/CT is commonly used in oncology fields, it can also visualize the inflammation. Activated inflammatory cells predominantly metabolize glucose as a source of energy. Even more, we often use it to differentiate pulmonary TB from lung cancer. The degrees of FDG uptake in the pericardium and the mediastinal and supraclavicular lymph nodes are useful for differentiating acute tuberculous from idiopathic pericarditis[51]. TBCP is frequently associated with pulmonary TB or lymph node involvement, which can be detected by 18F-FDG PET/CT-one of the advantage of it. Diagnosis is made on a multifactorial analysis of clinical, imaging, chemical, and bacteriological and serological basis, although PET/CT has a high sensitivity but low specificity[52]. However, molecular imaging has great potential, which depends on the development and selection of tracers. Not only diagnosis/differential diagnosis but also the stage of the disease can be made, as well as an evaluation of the treatment effect.