Prosthetic vascular graft infections: diagnosis and treatment

The diagnosis of infection in prosthetic vascular grafts is difficult clinically but very important due to the high associated morbidity and mortality. Various radiographic and imaging procedures have been used. 111In-labeled white cells have been used with a sensitivity approaching 100% and a specificity of approximately 90%. Computed tomography (CT) has also been advocated as a means of detecting these infections by some. Similarly, ultrasound has been used. More recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been advocated in hopes that the signal of the infected graft would differ from that of the noninfected graft. This article reviews the data supporting each of these modalities.