Pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the third leading cardiovascular cause of death after heart attacks and stroke. PE is caused by blood clots in the pulmonary arteries. These are often caused by clots from the venous system, including thrombus from trauma, surgery or deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Treatment has traditionally been systemic use of thrombolytic drugs to dissolve the clot. But in cases there is a massive, life-threatening PE, or chronic clot burden that have remained in a vessel for an extended period of time, mechanical thrombectomy and ultrasound-assisted catheter-directed thrombolysis (USCDT) is being used as more targeted and aggressive treatments.

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Example of spectral, or dual-energy CT, confirming a pulmonary embolism (PE). Image courtesy of Philips Healthcare

MRA vs CTA for evaluating pulmonary embolism: Does the chosen modality impact downstream imaging utilization?

MR angiography (MRA) is a relatively new alternative to CT angiography (CTA) for the evaluation of suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) and it even has one major advantage over CTA: it does not expose patients to ionizing radiation.

Example of pulmonary embolism (PE) detection on CT and confirmed using spectral CT. Image courtesy of Philips Healthcare

Researchers 'concerned' CT angiography topped MRA in follow-ups for pulmonary embolism

A recent study found whether a patient received MR angiography (MRA) instead of CT angiography (CTA) for a pulmonary embolism (PE) had little effect on the rate of follow-up chest CT or MRI one year later.

CDS leads to reduction in CPTA imaging for pulmonary embolism

The use of evidence-based clinical decision support (CDS) results in a significant reduction in CT pulmonary angiographic imaging in patients suspected of having a pulmonary embolism, according to a study published online in Radiology. 

Additional MR Techniques Improve Detection of Pulmonary Embolism

According a study published in the March issue of the journal Radiology, radiologists now have a comparable, non-ionizing option to CT for the detection of pulmonary embolism.

Radiology: Additional MR sequences improve pulmonary embolism detection

Adding two MRI sequences to a common MR pulmonary angiogram (MRPA) significantly improves detection of pulmonary embolism and could provide an alternative to CT angiography (CTA) for diagnosis, according to a study published in the April issue of Radiology.

Radiology: Decision support reins in CT pulmonary angiographic exams

Evidence-based decision support programs may be able to reduce the number of unnecessary CT pulmonary angiographic exams used to evaluate pulmonary emboli in the emergency department, according to a study published online Dec. 20 in Radiology.

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