Role Of 2-[18F] FDG-PET/CT In the Proper Diagnosis of Coincidence of Giant Cell Arteritis and Infective Endocarditis

Stacey H

Published on: 2025-04-02

Abstract

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a systemic autoimmune disorder that typically affects medium and large arteries, usually leading to occlusive granulomatous vasculitis with transmural infiltrate containing multinucleated giant cells. In our two cases, GCA coincided with infective endocarditis (IE), where IE was properly recognized and treated, but without full regression of inflammatory markers. GCA was not expected, where 2-[18F] FDG-PET/CT was performed to check the effects of IE treatment. The study revealed a typical metabolic pattern of GCA in both cases. Thanks to this study glucocorticoid treatment was applied with good clinical results and full recovery.