ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the impact of dedicated cardiac protocol (DCP) on diagnostic accuracy of state-of-the-art digital [18F]-FDG-PET/CT in infective endocarditis (IE) and the intra-individual comparison of the performance with that of conventional whole-body approach (WBA) and to analyze the effects of expertise level of the investigators. METHODS: 44 patients suspected for IE underwent digital-FDG-PET/CT after overnight fasting. Each three consultants and trainees reread PET-images blinded to examination approach and clinical information. Visual and semiquantitative analyses were performed. RESULTS: Digital-FDG-PET/CT with DCP revealed sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 89%, 93% and 91% for native valve endocarditis (NVE) and 93%, 86% and 91% for prosthetic valve endocarditis. Compared to WBA, substantial improvement of the diagnostic performance for NVE in DCP was evident, especially in trainees, but not as high compared to consultants. Digital-FDG-PET/CT enabled 79.5% reclassification of modified-Duke-Clinical-Criteria (mDC) with 34.1% upgrading and 45.4% downgrading. CONCLUSION: This study provides new data using state-of-the-art digital-FDG-PET/CT with DCP improving the diagnostic accuracy in challenging cases of possible IE, particularly in NVE, provided that the investigators involved have the necessary expertise. These findings may have a significant impact on IE-related morbidity, mortality and patient's management and might be meaningful for updates of the prevailing opinion regarding the value of FDG PET/CT in NVE.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Prompt endovascular treatment of patients with stroke due to intracranial Large Vessel Occlusion (LVO) is a major challenge in rural areas because neurointerventionalists are usually not available. As a result, treatment is delayed, and clinical outcomes are worse compared with patients primarily treated in comprehensive stroke centers (CSC). To address this problem, we present a concept in which interdisciplinary, on-site endovascular treatment is performed in a Primary Stroke Center (PSC) by a team of interventional neuroradiologists and cardiologists: the Rendez-Vous approach. METHODS: Thirty-five patients with LVO who underwent interdisciplinary thrombectomy on-site at the PSC as part of the Rendez-Vous concept were compared with 72 patients who were transferred from a PSCs to the CSC for thrombectomy when diagnosed with LVO in terms of temporal sequences and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Patients treated on-site at the PSC as part of the Rendez-Vous approach were managed as successfully and without an increase in complication rates compared with patients treated secondarily at a CSC (91.7% successful interventions in Rendez-Vous vs. 87.3% in control group, p = 0.57). The time from diagnosis of LVO to groin puncture was reduced by mean 74.3 min with the Rendez-Vous concept (p < 0.01). Regarding the clinical outcome, a functionally independent status was achieved in 45.5% in the Rendez-Vous group and in 22.6% in the control group (p = 0.029). CONCLUSION: Thanks to interdisciplinary teamwork between cardiology and interventional neuroradiology in local PSCs, times to successful reperfusion can be reduced. This has a potentially positive impact on the clinical outcome of stroke patients.