Cardiac Imaging of Infective Endocarditis, Echo and Beyond

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Accurate diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) is crucial for patient outcomes.
• Cardiac lesion visualization is a key diagnostic component of IE.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the utility of various cardiac imaging modalities in diagnosing and managing IE.
• To assess the role of different imaging techniques in IE patient stratification and follow-up.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on cardiac imaging in infective endocarditis.
• Analysis of the diagnostic performance of echocardiography, CT, and nuclear medicine techniques.

Main Results:

• Transthoracic echocardiography is the initial imaging modality for suspected IE.
• Transesophageal echocardiography offers higher sensitivity for IE detection.
• Multislice CT and nuclear medicine (PET, radiolabeled leucocyte scintigraphy) enhance diagnostic certainty in complex IE cases, especially with foreign material.

Conclusions:

• Advanced imaging techniques are valuable for definitive IE classification and early rejection when echocardiography is equivocal.
• Imaging aids in prognostic stratification and monitoring IE progression.
• Multidisciplinary endocarditis team management integrating imaging findings is recommended for optimal patient care.