Hepatosplenic Candidiasis Detected by 18F-FDG-PET/CT

Hepatosplenic candidiasis is a fungal infection, which mostly affects patients with hematologic malignancies such as leukemia. The pathogenesis of this infection is not clear yet, and the liver is the most commonly affected organ. Diagnosis of hepatosplenic candidiasis can be only established via biopsy, since computed tomography (CT) scan, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) yield non-specific results. The role of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography /computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) in diagnosis of hepatosplenic candidiasis remains undetermined, considering a few evidences in the literature. In this case report, we present the case of a 47-year-old patient, affected by acute myeloid leukemia, which was treated with three cycles of chemotherapy, resulting in the development of neutropenia and fever following the last cycle. The 18F-FDG PET/CT scan showed some foci of intense FDG uptake in the liver and spleen. The subsequent diagnostic investigations (i.e., abdominal CT scan and biopsy) were suggestive of hepatosplenic candidiasis. The patient was started on antifungal treatment with fluconazole. After one month, the clinical conditions were resolved, and the subsequent abdominal CT scan was negative.