TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of V/Q SPECT and planar V/Q lung scintigraphy in diagnosing acute pulmonary embolism
AU - Borgwardt, Henrik Gutte
AU - Mortensen, Jann
AU - Jensen, Claus Verner
AU - Von Der Recke, Peter
AU - Petersen, Claus Leth
AU - Kristoffersen, Ulrik Sloth
AU - Kjær, Andreas
PY - 2010/1/1
Y1 - 2010/1/1
N2 - PURPOSE: Planar ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scintigraphy is currently the standard method for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) in most nuclear medicine centers. However, recent studies have shown a superior sensitivity and specificity when applying V/Q single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in diagnosing PE. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of three-dimensional V/Q SPECT in comparison with planar V/Q scintigraphy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients suspected of acute PE from June 2006 to February 2008 were referred to the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Frederiksberg Hospital, Denmark to a V/Q SPECT, as the first-line imaging procedure. Patients with positive D-dimer (>0.5mg/l) or after clinical assessment with a Wells score of more than 2 were included and had a V/Q SPECT, low-dose CT, planar V/Q scintigraphy, and pulmonary multidetector computer tomography angiography performed the same day. Ventilation studies were performed using 81mKr. Patient follow-up was at least 6 months. RESULTS: A total of 36 patient studies were available for analysis, of which 11 (31%) had PE. V/Q SPECT had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 87%. Planar V/Q scintigraphy had a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 72%. CONCLUSION: We conclude that V/Q SPECT has a superior diagnostic performance compared with planar V/Q scintigraphy and should be preferred when diagnosing PE.
AB - PURPOSE: Planar ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scintigraphy is currently the standard method for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) in most nuclear medicine centers. However, recent studies have shown a superior sensitivity and specificity when applying V/Q single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in diagnosing PE. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of three-dimensional V/Q SPECT in comparison with planar V/Q scintigraphy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients suspected of acute PE from June 2006 to February 2008 were referred to the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Frederiksberg Hospital, Denmark to a V/Q SPECT, as the first-line imaging procedure. Patients with positive D-dimer (>0.5mg/l) or after clinical assessment with a Wells score of more than 2 were included and had a V/Q SPECT, low-dose CT, planar V/Q scintigraphy, and pulmonary multidetector computer tomography angiography performed the same day. Ventilation studies were performed using 81mKr. Patient follow-up was at least 6 months. RESULTS: A total of 36 patient studies were available for analysis, of which 11 (31%) had PE. V/Q SPECT had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 87%. Planar V/Q scintigraphy had a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 72%. CONCLUSION: We conclude that V/Q SPECT has a superior diagnostic performance compared with planar V/Q scintigraphy and should be preferred when diagnosing PE.
U2 - 10.1097/mnm.0b013e3283336747
DO - 10.1097/mnm.0b013e3283336747
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0143-3636
VL - 31
SP - 82
EP - 86
JO - Nuclear Medicine Communications
JF - Nuclear Medicine Communications
IS - 1
ER -