PET radiopharmaceuticals for specific bacteria imaging: a systematic review

Background: Bacterial infections are still one of the main factors associated with mortality worldwide. Many radiopharmaceuticals were developed for bacterial imaging, both with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) isotopes. This review focuses on PET radiopharmaceuticals, performing a systematic literature review of published studies between 2005 and 2018. Methods: A systematic review of published studies between 2005 and 2018 was performed. A team of reviewers independently screened for eligible studies. Because of differences between studies, we pooled the data where possible, otherwise, we described separately. Quality of evidence was assessed by Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) approach. Results: Eligible papers included 35 published studies. Because of the heterogeneity of animal models and bacterial strains, we classified studies in relation to the type of bacterium: Gram-positive, Gram-negative, Gram-positive and negative, others. Conclusions: Results highlighted the availability of many promising PET radiopharmaceuticals for bacterial imaging, despite some bias related to animal selection and index test, but few have been translated to human subjects. Results showed a lack of standardized infection models and experimental settings.