title: Cardiac (18)F-FDG PET/CT with heparin detects infective vegetation in a patient with mechanical valve replacement.
abstract: We report the usefulness of F-FDG PET/CT for the detection and therapy evaluation of the infective vegetation. A 64-year-old man with history of aortic valve replacement presented with 2 months of fever without identifiable cause. Echocardiogram showed no inflammation vegetation or abnormality of mechanical valve function. FDG PET/CT with 50 IU/kg IV heparin revealed focal uptakes near the mechanical aortic valve. After antibiotics therapy, fever was ameliorated, and FDG PET/CT findings showed markedly decreased uptake of the lesions. FDG PET/CT is a powerful tool to detect endocarditis even in patients with no anatomical abnormalities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
authors.forename: Alisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klaipetch
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Manabe
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oyama-Manabe
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: Masanao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naya
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirata
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsutsui
authors.forename: Nagara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tamaki
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006493:Heparin / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006493:Heparin