Inferior Colliculus's Hypermetabolism A New Finding on Brain FDG PET and Perfusion MRI in a Patient With COVID-19

We present the case of a 64-year-old man presenting an episode of confusion during SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection with a positive oropharyngeal swab polymerase chain reaction test. He was hospitalized for dyspnea related to pneumonia demonstrated on chest CT. FDG PET performed after the confusion phase, but still in the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019)-positive phase, showed high glucose metabolism of the inferior colliculi. Morphological MRI was normal. The first-pass perfusion MRI shows hyperperfusion of the inferior colliculi, corresponding to FDG PET hypermetabolism.

Automated summary

A 64-year-old man presented with confusion during COVID-19 infection, with FDG PET showing high glucose metabolism and perfusion in the inferior colliculi. Brain MRI revealed no morphological abnormalities.