[18F]FDG PET/CT in non-union: improving the diagnostic performances by using both PET and CT criteria

Purpose Complete fracture healing is crucial for positive patient outcome. A major complication in fracture treatment is non-union. Infection is among the main causes of non-union and hence of osteosynthesis failure. For the treatment of non-union, it is crucial to understand whether a fracture is not healing because of an underlying septic process, since the surgical approach to non-unions definitely differs according to whether the fracture is infected or aseptic. We aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography ([18F]FDG PET/CT) in the evaluation of infection as possible cause of non-union.