Table 1.
Infection | Common causative micro-organisms (>10 %) | Potential tracers for detection | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
Necrotizing fasciitis | Streptococcus pyogenes, other β-hemolytic streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus; (an)aerobic mixed flora, Clostridium perfringens a, other clostridiaa | CEF, CIP, FIAU, MALT, UBI, VAN | |
Septic arthritis | Staphylococcus aureus, streptococci, N. gonorrhoeae | CEF, CIP, FIAU, FLER, MALT, NUC, PRO, UBI, VAN | |
Infective endocarditis | S. aureus, coagulase negative staphylococci, viridans streptococci, enterococci, HACEK organismsa | CEF, CIP, FIAU, MALT, NUC, PRO, UBI, VAN | |
Infected surgical meshes | S. aureus, coagulase negative staphylococci, streptococci, enterococci | CEF, CIP, FIAU, MALT, NUC, PRO, UBI, VAN | |
Infected surgical grafts and meshes | S. aureus, coagulase negative staphylococci, streptococci, enterococci | CEF, CIP, FIAU, MALT, NUC, PRO, UBI, VAN | |
Meningitis | Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Listeria monocytogenes a | CEF, FIAU, MALT, UBI | The tracer has to cross the blood–brain barrier |
Bacteremia | Miscellaneous | CEF, CIP, FIAU, MALT, NUC, PRO, SOR, UBI, VAN, BLA | |
Pneumonia | Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, S. aureus. Hospital-acquired pneumonia: miscellaneous | CEF, CIP, FIAU, MALT, NUC, PRO, SOR, UBI, BLA |
Tracers can be suitable in two possible ways, namely (1) detection of infection by targeting the vast majority of causative pathogens, or (2) by detection of particular species, which would have direct implications for the choice of therapy. Ideally, future approaches would offer both possibilities. Potentially usable tracers not only include the tracers in their current published structures but also future variants (e.g., modification from radiolabeled to optically labeled, or vice versa). Microorganisms and tracers are mentioned in alphabetical order
aMicro-organisms that occur in less than 10 % of the cases, but are classically associated with the respective infection. The specific tracers listed are: 99mTc-ceftriaxone (CEF), 99mTc-ciprofloxacin/18F-ciprofloxacin (CIP), 124Iodine-FIAU (FIAU), 18F-fleroxacin (FLER), 6-[18F]-fluoromaltose/maltodextrin-based optical tracer (MALT), activatable nuclease-targeted optical tracer (S. aureus-directed; NUC), prothrombin-based optical/radiolabeled tracer (PRO), 2-[18F]-fluoro-deoxy-sorbitol (SOR), 99mTc-ubiquicidin (UBI), vancomycin-IRDye 800CW (VAN), activatable β-lactamase-targeted optical tracer (BLA). HACEK organisms (fastidious Gram-negative bacilli): Haemophilus spp., Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, Kingella kingae/Kingella denitrificans