{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T18:27:41Z","timestamp":1787855261553,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,14]],"date-time":"2023-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1691971200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a severe larval tapeworm infection with a variable clinical course of the disease. Reliable imaging techniques and biomarkers are needed to predict the course of the disease. Methods: 179 AE patients that received PET\/CT scans between 2008 and 2012 were retrospectively included. From stored blood samples taken on the day of the scan, levels of IgE, parasite-specific serology, amyloid A, C-reactive protein, soluble interleukin 2 receptor, cytokeratin fragments, eosinophilic cell count, and eosinophil cationic protein were measured. Additionally, the current clinical outcome (cured, stable, or progressive disease) after a median duration of 8 years after baseline examination was assessed. Ultimately, an ordinal logistic regression was conducted to evaluate which imaging parameters and biomarkers independently influence the clinical outcome. Results: In general, patients in need of medical treatment or with progressive disease, advanced PNM stages, and positive PET\/CT scans exhibited higher levels of the respective biomarkers. However, only the parasite-specific serological markers and total IgE levels differed significantly between clinical groups, WHO PNM stages, and the results of the PET\/CT scan. In the multivariate analysis, PET\/CT results were a strong predictor of the clinical outcome (OR 8.908, 95%CI 3.019\u201326.285; p &lt; 0.001), and age at baseline was a moderate predictor (OR 1.031, 95%CI 1.003\u20131.060; p = 0.029). Conclusions: The PET\/CT scan is, preferably in combination with parasite-specific serology and IgE levels, a valuable tool in the clinical management of AE and is able to predict the course of the disease.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens12081041","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,14]],"date-time":"2023-08-14T10:20:14Z","timestamp":1692008414000},"page":"1041","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["18FDG-PET\/CT-Scans and Biomarker Levels Predicting Clinical Outcome in Patients with Alveolar Echinococcosis\u2014A Single-Center Cohort Study with 179 Patients"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4882-6816","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lynn","family":"Peters","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine III, Division of Infectious Diseases, Ulm University Hospital, 89081 Ulm, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wanjie","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine III, Division of Infectious Diseases, Ulm University Hospital, 89081 Ulm, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nina","family":"Eberhardt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ulm University Hospital, 89081 Ulm, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J\u00fcrgen Benjamin","family":"Hagemann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Ulm University Hospital, 89081 Ulm, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6669-3741","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Beate","family":"Gr\u00fcner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine III, Division of Infectious Diseases, Ulm University Hospital, 89081 Ulm, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dennis","family":"Tappe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, 20359 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhep.2008.03.023","article-title":"Alveolar Echinococcosis: From a Deadly Disease to a Well-Controlled Infection. 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