18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT in the diagnosis of right-sided endocarditis in children and adults with infective endocarditis.

Objective: Infectious endocarditis poses a diagnostic challenge due to its highly variable clinical presentation. To establish a definitive diagnosis, different imaging modalities are essential. In recent years, positron emission tomography/CT has gained increasing significance in diagnosing infective endocarditis; however, its application in the pediatric age group remains limited. This study encompasses patients definitively or potentially diagnosed with infectious endocarditis at our institution from 2018 to 2023.

Methods: A total of 29 patients underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT examinations, with 19 of them presenting with right-sided infective endocarditis.

Results: Evidence consistent with infective endocarditis was observed in 18 (94.7%) of the patients. Pulmonary septic embolism was identified in 15 (78.9%) cases, and splenic involvement was noted in 12 (57.8%) cases. Transthoracic/transesophageal echocardiography failed to reveal vegetation or provided uncertain results in six patients, whereas fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography-CT exhibited involvement. Subsequently, the diagnosis of infective endocarditis was confirmed post-surgery based on the fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography-CT findings.

Conclusion: Our results, along with our clinical experience, demonstrate that fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography-CT is a safe and viable method for diagnosing right-sided endocarditis, which is often challenging to visualize using echocardiography.