Diagnostic challenge of annular abscess in a patient with prosthetic aortic valve: can F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography be helpful?

are observed. Echocardiography represents the central role in the evaluation of patients who have a clinical presentation suggestive of IE. In the majority of published studies, transthoracic echocardiography and TEE sensitivity ranges between 40% and 63% and between 87% and 100%, respectively. Perivalvular abscesses are particularly common in prosthetic valve IE, since the annulus is the usual primary site of infection. This serious complication Available online 2 August 2011