Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in pulmonary rheumatoid nodules

A 60-year-old female patient with a 5-year history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) presented with pulmonary nodules on chest radiograph and computed tomography (CT) scan. The positron emission tomography (PET) demonstrated mild fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in these nodules, which is characteristic of benign lesions. Histopathological correlation confirmed this. Although rheumatoid pulmonary nodules are benign, confirmation to exclude coincidental malignancy is very important. FDG-PET is a noninvasive imaging technique, which acts as a metabolic biopsy and can help in avoiding morbidity and cost of invasive tissue sampling.