Abstract
A case of Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis complicated by brain infarction, due to septic emboli causing left-sided hemiplegia, is reported. The cerebal infarction was detected with gallium-67 citrate (67Ga) scan and missed by CT scan. The diagnosis of S. aureus endocarditis was confirmed by a positive blood culture and the findings of echocardiography. A whole-body67Ga scan detected the primary focus of septic endocarditis in the right maxillary sinus and the embolic spread from the heart to the right cerebral hemisphere and to the bones of the feet. In this case 67Ga imaging was more sensitive than brain CT. Whole body 67Ga scan should thus be used more frequently in cases of septic endocarditis to define both the source and the embolic spread of inflammation.