Multislice Computed Tomography Findings of Patients with Suspected Pulmonary Embolism in the Emergency Department: Incidence of Pulmonary Embolism and Non-Thromboembolic Findings

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE) and tomographic findings in patients who underwent multislice computed tomography (MSCT) for suspected PE in the emergency department. Methods:We assessed the radiologic and medical records of 212 cases undergoing MSCT for suspected PE in the emergency department for a period of 16 months. A total of 201 cases were included in the final analysis. Age, sex, admission symptoms, risk factors, and MSCT findings were recorded. The final diagnosis assigned to each patient was determined. Results:The PE incidence was found to be 24,4%. Forty-nine (24,4%) of the cases were diagnosed with PE, while 152 (75,6%) had non-thromboembolic pathologies. There was no statistically significant difference between the patients with and without PE with respect to mean age, symptom status and gender (p>0.05). Among the risk factors for PE, only presence of previous surgical operation was statistically significant. Forty-three (87,7%) of the cases with PE and 118 (77,6%) of those without PE had additional parenchymal abnormalities.Linear atelectasis was the only significant difference in MSCT between patients with PE and those without PE (p<0.001).

Computed Tomography Angiograms Performed for Patients with Suspected Pulmonary Embolism

“…Considering the largely varied prevalence of confirmed pulmonary embolism by CTPA in the literature, 26.6% is within the European average (15-51%) (12,14,18,21,26,27) while the prevalence in North American literature is lower (5-14%) [6,10,11,13,15,16,19,20,25].…”