Open AccessExpanding utility of cardiac computed tomography in infective endocarditis: A contemporary review
Author(s) -
Diarmaid Hughes,
Richard Linchangco,
Reza Reyaldeen,
Bo Xu
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
world journal of radiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1949-8470
DOI - 10.4329/wjr.v14.i7.180
Subject(s) - medicine , endocarditis , infective endocarditis , computed tomography , radiology , cardiac valve , surgical planning , sternum , aortic valve , multidetector computed tomography , coronary artery disease , cardiology , surgery
There is increasing evidence on the utility of cardiac computed tomography (CCT) in infective endocarditis (IE) to investigate the valvular pathology, the extra-cardiac manifestations of IE and pre-operative planning. CCT can assist in the diagnosis of perivalvular complications, such as pseudoaneurysms and abscesses, and can help identify embolic events to the lungs or systemic vasculature. CCT has also been shown to be beneficial in the pre-operative planning of patients by delineating the coronary artery anatomy and the major cardiovascular structures in relation to the sternum. Finally, hybrid nuclear/computed tomography techniques have been shown to increase the diagnostic accuracy in prosthetic valve endocarditis. This manuscript aims to provide a contemporary update of the existing evidence base for the use of CCT in IE.