Open AccessPET-CT in brain disorders: The South African context
Author(s) -
Alex Doruyter,
Jeannette Parkes,
Jonathan Carr,
James Warwick
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
sa journal of radiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.18
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 2078-6778
pISSN - 1027-202X
DOI - 10.4102/sajr.v25i1.2201
Subject(s) - medicine , positron emission tomography , dementia , context (archaeology) , epilepsy , psychiatry , radiology , pathology , disease , paleontology , biology
Positron emission tomography combined with X-ray computed tomography (PET-CT) has an established role in the management of brain disorders, but may be underutilised in South Africa. Possible barriers to access include the limited number of PET-CT facilities and the lack of contemporary guidelines for the use of brain PET-CT in South Africa. The current review aims to highlight the evidence-based usage of brain Positron emission tomography (PET) in dementia, movement disorders, brain tumours, epilepsy, neuropsychiatric lupus, immune-mediated encephalitides, and brain infections. While being areas of research, there is currently no clinical role for the use of PET-CT in traumatic brain injury or in psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorders. Strategies to expand the appropriate use of PET-CT in brain disorders are discussed in this article.