Acute intramural hematoma of the aorta as a cause of positive fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography

Asymptomatic Penetrating Atherosclerotic Ulcer Findings on 18 F-FDG PET/CT

ABSTRACT

We present a case of an 84-year-old man with a history of smoking, hypertension, and coronary artery disease with an incidental spiculated left apical pulmonary nodule, suspicious for a stage I non-small cell lung cancer. 18 F-FDG PET/CT performed for staging, which confirmed a small metabolically active pulmonary nodule. As an incidental finding, there was focal FDG uptake in the proximal descending aorta corresponding to a partially thrombosed outpouching of the aortic wall, in keeping with a penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer.