scholarly journals Westermark′s and Palla′s signs in acute and chronic pulmonary embolism: Still valid in the current computed tomography era

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
JorgeA Brenes-Salazar
ESC CardioMed ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 406-409
Author(s):  
Thomas Henzler

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and acute and chronic pulmonary embolism represent severe cardiovascular diseases with a high mortality if left undiagnosed and untreated. Computed tomography of the chest plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis of all three disorders. In acute pulmonary embolism, computed tomography pulmonary angiography has become the gold-standard imaging modality due to its high diagnostic accuracy, cost-effectiveness, 24-hour availability at most institutions, as well as the ability to diagnose alternative chest pathologies and right ventricular dysfunction within a single examination. In PAH, computed tomography of the chest is also deeply embedded within the diagnostic algorithm in order to exclude other causes of pulmonary hypertension, such as structural lung disease and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension of left heart disease. This article intends to provide a short overview on imaging techniques and characteristic findings in PAH, as well as acute and chronic pulmonary embolism.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Halil Dogan ◽  
Albert de Roos ◽  
Jacob Geleijins ◽  
Menno Huisman ◽  
Lucia Kroft

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 8-15
Author(s):  
A. A. Uchevatkin ◽  
A. L. Yudin ◽  
A. K. Kondakov ◽  
Yu. A. Abovich ◽  
N. I. Afafnas'eva ◽  
...  

Introduction. One of the important problems of medical imaging is the differential diagnosis of patients with acute and chronic pulmonary embolism. The widely used minimally invasive technique of multispiral computed tomography with intravenous bolus contrast enhancement can serve to solve this problem, in particular, to assess the state of the parenchyma and vascular structures of the lungs.The purpose. To assess the state of bronchial arteries and parenchymal changes in the lungs in pulmonary thromboembolism based on the results of multispiral computed tomography and their role in the more precise diagnosis of this disease.Materials and methods. An analysis of CT-angiopulmonography of 600 patients with suspected PE was performed. 87 patients with confirmed pulmonary thromboembolism were selected and divided into groups according to the final diagnosis: group 1 — acute pulmonary embolism, group 2 — chronic pulmonary embolism. CT data were analyzed for the presence of pathologically changed bronchial arteries, as well as lung's parenchymal changes (including mosaic perfusion, fibrotic changes, bronchial dilatation with or without wall thickening).Results. Bronchial arteries were assessed in patients with acute and chronic pulmonary embolism and the diagnostic value of the detected changes was determined. Acute pulmonary embolism does not lead to such dilatation of the bronchial arteries as chronic pulmonary embolism. In diagnostically unclear cases, secondary parenchymal signs visible on CT (mosaic perfusion and dilated bronchi without wall thickening) can be useful in the differential diagnosis of acute and chronic pulmonary embolism.Conclusions. Most patients with chronic pulmonary embolism demonstrated dilated bronchial arteries, in contrast to patients with acute pulmonary embolism. Lung's parenchymal changes (a mosaic perfusion pattern and bronchial dilation without wall thickening) were more common in patients with chronic pulmonary embolism. These CT-signs can help differentiate acute from chronic pulmonary embolism in unclear clinical situations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuomas Vainio ◽  
Teemu Mäkelä ◽  
Sauli Savolainen ◽  
Marko Kangasniemi

Abstract Background Chronic pulmonary embolism (CPE) is a life-threatening disease easily misdiagnosed on computed tomography. We investigated a three-dimensional convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm for detecting hypoperfusion in CPE from computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA). Methods Preoperative CTPA of 25 patients with CPE and 25 without pulmonary embolism were selected. We applied a 48%–12%–40% training-validation-testing split (12 positive and 12 negative CTPA volumes for training, 3 positives and 3 negatives for validation, 10 positives and 10 negatives for testing). The median number of axial images per CTPA was 335 (min–max, 111–570). Expert manual segmentations were used as training and testing targets. The CNN output was compared to a method in which a Hounsfield unit (HU) threshold was used to detect hypoperfusion. Receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) and Matthew correlation coefficient (MCC) were calculated with their 95% confidence interval (CI). Results The predicted segmentations of CNN showed AUC 0.87 (95% CI 0.82–0.91), those of HU-threshold method 0.79 (95% CI 0.74–0.84). The optimal global threshold values were CNN output probability ≥ 0.37 and ≤ -850 HU. Using these values, MCC was 0.46 (95% CI 0.29–0.59) for CNN and 0.35 (95% CI 0.18–0.48) for HU-threshold method (average difference in MCC in the bootstrap samples 0.11 (95% CI 0.05–0.16). A high CNN prediction probability was a strong predictor of CPE. Conclusions We proposed a deep learning method for detecting hypoperfusion in CPE from CTPA. This model may help evaluating disease extent and supporting treatment planning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 030006052110106
Author(s):  
Wenrui Li ◽  
Saisai Cao ◽  
Renming Zhu ◽  
Xueming Chen

Ovarian vein thrombosis (OVT) is a rare medical disorder, which is most often found in the immediate postpartum period. OVT is rarely considered idiopathic. We report a case of idiopathic OVT with pulmonary embolism in a 33-year-old woman who presented with abdominal pain. Computed tomography and postoperative pathology confirmed the diagnosis of idiopathic OVT. To date, only 12 cases of idiopathic OVT have been reported. In this case report, we present a summary of these cases and a review of literature regarding management of idiopathic OVT.


TH Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 05 (01) ◽  
pp. e66-e72
Author(s):  
Lisette F. van Dam ◽  
Lucia J. M. Kroft ◽  
Menno V. Huisman ◽  
Maarten K. Ninaber ◽  
Frederikus A. Klok

Abstract Background Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is the imaging modality of choice for the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). With computed tomography pulmonary perfusion (CTPP) additional information on lung perfusion can be assessed, but its value in PE risk stratification is unknown. We aimed to evaluate the correlation between CTPP-assessed perfusion defect score (PDS) and clinical presentation and its predictive value for adverse short-term outcome of acute PE. Patients and Methods This was an exploratory, observational study in 100 hemodynamically stable patients with CTPA-confirmed acute PE in whom CTPP was performed as part of routine clinical practice. We calculated the difference between the mean PDS in patients with versus without chest pain, dyspnea, and hemoptysis and 7-day adverse outcome. Multivariable logistic regression analysis and likelihood-ratio test were used to assess the added predictive value of PDS to CTPA parameters of right ventricle dysfunction and total thrombus load, for intensive care unit admission, reperfusion therapy and PE-related death. Results We found no correlation between PDS and clinical symptoms. PDS was correlated to reperfusion therapy (n = 4 with 16% higher PDS, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.5–28%) and PE-related mortality (n = 2 with 22% higher PDS, 95% CI: 4.9–38). Moreover, PDS had an added predictive value to CTPA assessment for PE-related mortality (from Chi-square 14 to 19, p = 0.02). Conclusion CTPP-assessed PDS was not correlated to clinical presentation of acute PE. However, PDS was correlated to reperfusion therapy and PE-related mortality and had an added predictive value to CTPA-reading for PE-related mortality; this added value needs to be demonstrated in larger studies.


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