The role of multimodal imaging in the diagnosis of prosthetic valve and intracardiac device endocarditis: A review

Abstract

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a severe cardiac condition associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Traditionally, the modified Duke's criteria have been used to establish the diagnosis of IE, which includes using transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography. While echocardiography performs well in diagnosing native valve endocarditis, its diagnostic accuracy decreases in patients with prosthetic valves or implanted cardiac devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators. Given these limitations and advancements in cardiac imaging, including multimodal computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography, there has been growing interest in the utility of these techniques for diagnosing prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) and Cardiovascular implantable electronic device infection (CIEDI). Although numerous studies have investigated the value of these imaging modalities, their findings have been inconsistent. This article aims to reevaluate the role of advanced imaging in diagnosing PVE and CIEDI and its impact on managing prosthetic valves and device-related infective endocarditis. Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane library, Google Scholar, Embase, and other relevant databases. Key terms such as 'infective endocarditis,' 'multimodal imaging,' 'prosthetic valve endocarditis,' '18F-FDG PET,' 'cardiac MRI,' and 'cardiac CT' were used to identify studies that investigated the role of these imaging modalities in diagnosing PVE and CIEDI. Publications with full text including randomized controlled trials, retrospective studies, case reports, case series, reviews of literature, and society guidelines were included.

Keywords: 18F-FDG PET; Infective endocarditis; and white blood cell SPECT.; cardiac CT; cardiac MRI; cardiovascular implantable electronic device infection; multimodal imaging; prosthetic valve endocarditis.