SCINTIGRAPHIC DETECTION OF INFLAMMATORY HEART-DISEASE

Inflammatory diseases of the heart encompass myocarditis, endocarditis and pericarditis. This paper discusses the diagnostic potential of sc intigraphy in these entities. In myocarditis, indium-111 antimyosin Fa b imaging can visualize active myocyte damage and thus contribute subs tantially to the diagnosis. Antimyosin uptake is also seen in a large subset of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, indicating ongoing myo cyte injury in these cases. In endocarditis, immunoscintigraphy using monoclonal technetium-99m-labelled antigranulocyte antibodies provides useful diagnostic information in patients with equivocal echocardiogr aphic findings. Immunoscintigraphy seems to indicate the floridity of the inflammatory process in endocarditis and may be used to monitor an tibiotic therapy. In pericarditis, the clinical value of scintigraphy has not been convincingly demonstrated.