[67Ga imaging in the patients with infective endocarditis after surgery for congenital heart disease].

67Ga imaging was performed in sixteen patients (age: 8 m.-18 y.) who had persistent fever and positive acute phase reactants after surgery for congenital heart disease. Abnormal uptake of 67Ga over the heart and the lungs was evaluated with a computer. Abnormal uptake of 67Ga was observed in seven patients, three of them showed it in the area of peripheral pulmonary artery and another four showed it in the area of artificial vessels for pulmonary artery reconstruction. In six patients with positive blood cultures, five showed abnormal uptake of 67Ga and in ten patients with negative blood cultures, two showed it. Vegetation was detected with 2D-echocardiography in four patients and all of them showed abnormal uptake of 67Ga, while in 12 patients without vegetation three showed it. In conclusion, 67Ga imaging was useful to detect the foci of infective endoarteritis or pulmonary embolism caused by the vegetation in infective endocarditis in the patients after surgery for congenital heart disease, especially in the peripheral pulmonary arteries and artificial vessels which could not be detected with 2D-echo.