Abstract
Outcome studies have shown that pulmonary embolism can be safely excluded in patients with negative ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The effective radiation dose of V/Q SPECT is much less than with computed tomographic (CT) pulmonary angiography, which would make it preferable to CT angiography in many young female patients. The accuracy of V/Q SPECT, however, is difficult to assess, because most published investigations are limited by incorporation bias or partial verification bias, as well as other limitations in study design and reporting. Consequently, the accuracy of V/Q SPECT relative to planar V/Q scintigraphy or CT angiography has not been definitively determined. There is need for a prospective investigation of the accuracy of V/Q SPECT with consecutive patients, blinded interpretations, and an independent reference standard, or independent composite reference standard.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 379-390 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Clinical and Translational Imaging |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 25 2014 |
Keywords
- Pulmonary embolism
- Single-photon emission computed tomography
- Venous thromboembolism
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging