Radiology, Vol 120, 125-130, Copyright © 1976 by Radiological Society of North America
Efficacy of emergency radionuclide perfusion lung studies
TM Anderson Jr, JC Mall, PB Hoffer, MR Tetalman and RW Hendrix
Over a one-year period, 206 patients with suspected pulmonary embolism
received gamma camera perfusion lung images on an emergency 24 hr. basis.
Clinical diagnosis listed pulmonary embolism in 37 of 39 patients whose
images showed a high probability of it, in 28 of 69 whose images were
abnormal but rated uncertain probability, and 5 of 98 with normal images.
Retrospective clinical evaluation indicated 89 of the emergency images to
be considered important, 95 contributory, and 22 not helpful in clinical
management. As a result of the images, 80 patients were placed on heparin
therapy of 198 considered for it, and 22 of 29 patients referred for
hospital admission were placed on an outpatient basis. Delay in obtaining
lung images creates the possibility of diagnostic uncertainty in
interpreting the image.
