In a significant breakthrough, the department of Nuclear Medicine, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) — in collaboration with the Departments of Gastroenterology, Microbiology and Radiodiagnosis — has developed a minimally invasive, new technique to detect infections affecting internal organs.
Infections are one of the commonest problems in medical practice, and may affect any organ in the body. While common diagnostic techniques like x-rays, ultrasound and CT scans play an important role; a final diagnosis is usually made by needle biopsy from the suspected region and further examination is done by microscopic identification and laboratory culture of the infecting organisms.
Dr Anish Bhattacharya, Additional Professor in the department of Nuclear Medicine, who has developed this technique said, “These procedures are invasive, and it may sometimes be difficult to reach the suspected site of infection affecting internal organs like the heart, skull base and intestines.”
A CT scan is also performed simultaneously on the same machine, to provide precise structural details of the affected organ. In the first such study in the world, conducted by Dr Anish Bhattacharya, it was used to detect abdominal infection in more than 120 patients with pancreatitis.
This work has been published in several international journals and has been selected for innovative medical research awards at international conferences in Europe and USA. The technique has also proven useful for accurately detecting orthopedic and intestinal infections.
“In patients with suspected infection in multiple regions of the body, the specific infected site can be located by whole body PET imaging, avoiding repeated invasive procedures. The radioactive material (Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose or FDG) for this test is produced in the PET center of the nuclear medicine department and the test report is available the same day,” said Dr Anish. If the cost of using this technique is taken into consideration, it is quite cheap and can be really helpful for patients in India because earlier methods required imported kits costing around Rs 6,000 per patient, and required multiple imaging steps over two days.
“The image quality with the new technique is also far superior and easier to interpret. No adverse effects have occurred in any patient diagnosed of infection by using this technique. Nearly 200 patients have been investigated over the last three years using this technique,” said Dr Anish. However, this investigation, which is not available anywhere else in the country, requires trained staff, specialised equipment and sterile working conditions. It is a five hours long procedure.