Mesenteric panniculitis presenting with acute non-occlusive colonic ischemia

BACKGROUND: The role of positron emission tomography (PET) of the mesentery as a diagnostic modality in cases of mesenteric panniculitis is unclear. CASE PRESENTATION: A 67-year-old woman presented with rectal bleeding due to nonocclusive colonic ischemia. Abdominal CT showed features of mesenteric panniculitis. PET-CT demonstrated no abnormal fluorine-18 fluordeoxyglucose uptake in the affected mesentery or any surrounding lymph nodes. Laparoscopic biopsies from a thickened segment of mesenteric fat excluded neoplastic infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: In cases of unexplained ischemic colitis, panniculitis should be considered a possible diagnosis. PET-CT may be negative for fluorine-18 fluordeoxyglucose uptake in this condition. As of known false-negative PET-CT results in mesenteric panniculitis, PET-CT has a limited role in the diagnostic work-up.