Gallium Citrate Ga 67 Scans and Aortic Prostheses

To the Editor.—  Retroperitoneal paraprosthetic infections may become manifest months or years after aortic reconstructive surgery. They may be associated with thrombosis, enteric erosion, and eventual aortoenteric fistula. Multiple diagnostic studies, including aortography, barium studies of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, ultrasound, and endoscopy, may sometimes give abnormal findings but often give false-negative results. Computerized tomographic (CT) scanning is useful but sometimes equivocal. Diagnosis is thus often delayed until massive hemorrhage occurs. Mortality after this event is severe.Gallium citrate Ga 67 scans have been useful in diagnosis of occult intra-abdominal infections, but their value in diagnosis of paraprosthetic infection has not, to our knowledge, been previously noted. We have had five patients with paraprosthetic infection, enteric erosion, and anemia in whom other diagnostic findings were normal or equivocal and in whom gallium citrate Ga 67 scans confirmed the suspected diagnosis. This allowed a planned elective operation as exemplified by the