Diagnosis of right ventricular dysfunction in acute pulmonary embolism using helical computed tomography

Am J Cardiol. 2005 May 15;95(10):1260-3. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2005.01.064.

Abstract

Forty-six consecutive patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) who underwent pulmonary angiography, helical computed tomography (CT), and echocardiography in the investigators' emergency department were studied. It was determined that the CT right ventricular (RV)/left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic area ratio was correlated with PE obstruction and echocardiography. A CT RV/LV area ratio >1 had a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 88% in diagnosing significant PE. The present study suggests that helical CT may be used as a triage tool in acute PE for selecting high-risk patients, using calculation of the RV/LV area ratio to detect RV dysfunction.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Angiography
  • Echocardiography
  • Emergency Treatment
  • Female
  • France / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Pulmonary Embolism*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / methods*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / statistics & numerical data
  • Ventricular Dysfunction, Right / diagnosis*
  • Ventricular Dysfunction, Right / diagnostic imaging
  • Ventricular Dysfunction, Right / epidemiology