Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in bacterial endocarditis.

Computed tomographic scanning of the brain is useful but not always conclusive in delineating central nervous system involvement in patients with bacterial endocarditis. Two patients are described in whom computed tomographic findings were normal, but magnetic resonance imaging revealed evidence of multiple brain abnormalities. Magnetic resonance imaging appears to be more sensitive than computed tomography for detecting central nervous system involvement in patients with bacterial endocarditis and should be employed when computed tomographic findings are normal in a patient with endocarditis and neurologic deterioration.