Imaging with (18)F-FDG-PET in infective endocarditis: promising role in difficult diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
Echocardiography (EC) plays a major role in diagnosing and monitoring the therapeutic response in infective endocarditis (IE) in routine practice. However in the setting of prosthetic valves or indwelling pacemakers, the EC findings are equivocal necessitating search for other diagnostic modalities. In these patients, (18)F-FDG/PET imaging may prove invaluable as evidenced by the presented case. We herein report a case of an 82 years old male with a mechanical aortic valve prosthesis who presented with a 10 days history of fever and malaise. Optimal interpretation of the EC results was difficult due to the presence of the prosthetic valve. However, (18)F-FDG-PET imaging findings were quite distinctive and revealed abnormally increased metabolic activity represented by two foci of increased (18)F-FDG uptake in the right and left borders of the heart that corresponded to areas of IE.
Moghadam-Kia
Siamak
S
Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Nawaz
Asad
A
Millar
B Cherie
BC
Moore
John E
JE
Wiegers
Susan E
SE
Torigian
Drew A
DA
Basu
Sandip
S
Alavi
Abass
A
D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D011379:Prognosis; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18