Abstract
Multidetector computed tomography (CT) plays an important role in the detection, risk stratification and prognosis evaluation of acute pulmonary embolism. This review will discuss the technical improvements for imaging peripheral pulmonary arteries, the methods of assessing pulmonary embolism severity based on CT findings, a multidetector CT technique for pulmonary embolism detection, and lastly, how to avoid overutilization of CT pulmonary angiography and overdiagnosis of pulmonary embolism.
Key Points
• We describe clinical prediction rules and D-dimers for pulmonary embolism evaluation.
• Overutilization of CT pulmonary angiography and overdiagnosis of pulmonary embolism should be avoided.
• We discuss technical improvements for imaging peripheral pulmonary arteries.
• Pulmonary embolism severity can be assessed based on CT findings.
• We discuss multidetector CT techniques for pulmonary embolism detection.
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Acknowledgments
The scientific guarantor of this publication is Long Jiang Zhang. The authors of this manuscript declare relationships with the following companies: UJS is a consultant for and receives research support from Bayer, Bracco, GE, Medrad, and Siemens. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. This study has received funding by Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-12-0260 to L.J.Z.). No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper. Institutional Review Board approval was not obtained because this is a review paper. Written informed consent was not obtained because this is a review paper. No study subjects or cohorts have been previously reported. Methodology: performed at one institution.
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Zhang, L.J., Lu, G.M., Meinel, F.G. et al. Computed tomography of acute pulmonary embolism: state-of-the-art. Eur Radiol 25, 2547–2557 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-015-3679-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-015-3679-2