Imaging experimental infective endocarditis with indium-111-labeled blood cellular components

Area of Science:

• Nuclear medicine
• Cardiovascular imaging
• Infectious diseases

Background:

• Infective endocarditis is a serious heart valve infection.
• Accurate detection of vegetations is crucial for diagnosis and treatment.
• Radionuclide imaging offers potential for non-invasive detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of indium-111 (111In)-labeled blood cells for detecting experimental aortic valve infective endocarditis.
• To compare the diagnostic capability of 111In-platelets versus 111In-polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Main Methods:

• Seventeen rabbits with infective endocarditis received 111In-platelets; five received 111In-polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
• Sequential cardiac imaging and tissue distribution studies were performed.
• Uptake in vegetations was compared to normal myocardium and blood.

Main Results:

• 111In-platelet imaging showed abnormal aortic valve uptake in all 17 rabbits.
• 111In-platelet uptake in vegetations was significantly higher than in myocardium and blood.
• 111In-leukocyte imaging showed no abnormal aortic valve uptake; uptake ratios were low.

Conclusions:

• 111In-platelet cardiac imaging is a sensitive method for detecting experimental infective endocarditis.
• 111In-leukocyte imaging is not effective for this purpose.
• Imaging findings correlate with the known cellular pathology of infective endocarditis vegetations.