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Makowska A, Treumann T, Venturini S, Christ M. Pulmonary Embolism in Pregnancy: A Review for Clinical Practitioners. J Clin Med 2024; 13:2863. [PMID: 38792409 PMCID: PMC11121909 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13102863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making in pregnancy with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) is challenging. European and other international professional societies have proposed various recommendations that are ambiguous, probably due to the unavailability of randomized controlled trials. In the following sections, we discuss the supporting diagnostic steps and treatments. We suggest a standardized diagnostic work-up in pregnant patients presenting with symptoms of PE to make evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. We strongly recommend that clinical decisions on treatment in pregnant patients with intermediate- or high-risk pulmonary embolism should include a multidisciplinary team approach involving emergency physicians, pulmonologists, angiologist, cardiologists, thoracic and/or cardiovascular surgeons, radiologists, and obstetricians to choose a tailored management option including an interventional treatment. It is important to be aware of the differences among guidelines and to assess each case individually, considering the specific views of the different specialties. This review summarizes key concepts of the diagnostics and acute management of pregnant women with suspected PE that are supportive for the clinician on duty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agata Makowska
- Emergency Department, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, 6000 Lucerne, Switzerland; (S.V.); (M.C.)
- Cardiology, Hospital Centre of Biel, 2501 Biel, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Treumann
- Radiology, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, 6000 Lucerne, Switzerland;
| | - Stefan Venturini
- Emergency Department, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, 6000 Lucerne, Switzerland; (S.V.); (M.C.)
| | - Michael Christ
- Emergency Department, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, 6000 Lucerne, Switzerland; (S.V.); (M.C.)
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Singh A, Hernandez M, Calimano-Ramirez LF, Gumus KZ, Marfori W, Kee-Sampson JW, Lall C, Gopireddy DR. Quality assurance for magnetic resonance angiography of the chest in patients suspected of pulmonary embolism during iodinated contrast shortage in the emergency department setting. J Clin Imaging Sci 2023; 13:28. [PMID: 37810183 PMCID: PMC10559390 DOI: 10.25259/jcis_3_2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives COVID-19 lockdowns resulted in a global shortage of iodinated contrast media. Therefore, alternative imaging protocols were devised to evaluate patients arriving to the emergency department (ED) with suspicion of pulmonary embolism (PE). This quality assurance (QA) aims to compare diagnostic potential between alternative magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) protocol over the gold standard computed tomography angiography (CTA) by evaluating MRA imaging quality, scanner type/imaging sequence, and any risk of misdiagnosis in patients with symptoms of PE. Material and Methods This retrospective study compromised of 55 patients who arrived to ED and underwent MRA of the chest for suspicion of PE during the months of May to June 2022. Data regarding their chief complaints, imaging sequence, and MRA results were collected. Two fellowship-trained faculty radiologists reviewed the MRA scans of the patients and scored the quality using a Likert scale. Results Two patients were positive for PE and 53 patients showed negative results. Regarding the scan quality issues, motion was noted in 80% of the 55 studies that we reviewed. Significant associations (P < 0.009) between Likert scale scores and initial complaint category were found. The characteristic symptoms associated with suspicion of PE, namely, shortness of breath, chest pain, and cough were distributed among the 1 and 2 categories, reflecting the most optimal vessel opacification scores. We found no risk of misdiagnosis after reviewing the electronic medical record for follow-up appointments within 6 months of ED visit. Conclusion Patients were screened for PE with MRA as an alternative imaging tool during times of contrast shortage. Further, evaluation of MRA with CTA, side by side, in a larger patient population is required to increase the validity of our QA study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anmol Singh
- Department of Radiology, University of Florida Health Jacksonville School of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida, United States
| | - Mauricio Hernandez
- Department of Radiology, University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida, United States
| | - Luis Fernando Calimano-Ramirez
- Department of Radiology, University of Florida Health Jacksonville School of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida, United States
| | - Kazim Z. Gumus
- Department of Radiology, University of Florida Health Jacksonville School of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida, United States
| | - Wanda Marfori
- Department of Radiology, University of Florida Health Jacksonville School of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida, United States
| | - Joanna W. Kee-Sampson
- Department of Radiology, University of Florida Health Jacksonville School of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida, United States
| | - Chandana Lall
- Department of Radiology, University of Florida Health Jacksonville School of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida, United States
| | - Dheeraj R. Gopireddy
- Department of Radiology, University of Florida Health Jacksonville School of Medicine, Jacksonville, Florida, United States
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Cafferkey J, Serebriakoff P, de Wit K, Horner DE, Reed MJ. Pulmonary embolism diagnosis: clinical assessment at the front door. J Accid Emerg Med 2022; 39:945-951. [PMID: 35868848 DOI: 10.1136/emermed-2021-212000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
This first of two practice reviews addresses pulmonary embolism (PE) diagnosis considering important aspects of PE clinical presentation and comparing evidence-based PE testing strategies. A companion paper addresses the management of PE. Symptoms and signs of PE are varied, and emergency physicians frequently use testing to 'rule out' the diagnosis in people with respiratory or cardiovascular symptoms. The emergency clinician must balance the benefit of reassuring negative PE testing with the risks of iatrogenic harms from over investigation and overdiagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Cafferkey
- Emergency Medicine Research Group Edinburgh (EMERGE), NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Kerstin de Wit
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel E Horner
- Emergency Department, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Salford, UK.,Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Matthew James Reed
- Emergency Medicine Research Group Edinburgh (EMERGE), NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK .,Acute Care Group, The University of Edinburgh Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, Edinburgh, UK
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Mohammed Elsaid S, Mohammad O, Okab A, Sweed E, Sadek M. Role of noncontrast magnetic resonance pulmonary imaging in diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. EGYPTIAN JOURNAL OF CHEST DISEASES AND TUBERCULOSIS 2022. [DOI: 10.4103/ecdt.ecdt_62_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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Fu Q, Cheng Q, Kong X, Ma H, Lei Z. Diagnostic accuracy of true fast imaging with steady-state precession, MR pulmonary angiography and volume-interpolated body examination for pulmonary embolism compared with CT pulmonary angiography. Exp Ther Med 2020; 21:42. [PMID: 33273972 PMCID: PMC7706389 DOI: 10.3892/etm.2020.9474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance (MR) sequences for displaying different levels of pulmonary artery involvement in pulmonary embolism (PE) has rarely been reported but is essential for critically ill and emergency patients. The aim of the present study was to analyze the diagnostic accuracy of true fast imaging with steady-state precession (true FISP), MR pulmonary angiography (MRPA) and volume-interpolated body examination (VIBE) for PE detection in comparison to CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA), which is the reference standard. A total of 21 patients with confirmed deep venous thrombosis suspected of having PE were enrolled. Emboli were evaluated on per-patient and per-vessel bases. The evidence of PE on a per-vessel basis was classified into central, lobar and segmental levels, and 27 vessel segments per patient were analyzed for a total of 567 vessel segments in all patients. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves were drawn to compare differences in sequences. A total of 158 pulmonary vessels were involved with emboli on CTPA, 58 of which were identified by true FISP, 63 by MRPA and 94 by VIBE. On per-patient and per-vessel bases, the sensitivity was 81.3 and 36.7%, respectively, for true FISP, 82.4 and 56.3%, respectively, for MRPA, and 94.4 and 68.1%, respectively, for VIBE; the specificity was 80.0 and 99.8%, respectively, for true FISP, 100 and 99.2%, respectively, for MRPA, and 100 and 99.2%, respectively, for VIBE. The respective PPV was 92.9 and 98.3% for true FISP, 100 and 95.5% for MRPA, 100 and 96.9% for VIBE. The NPV was 57.1 and 80.3%, respectively, for true FISP, 50.0 and 88.2%, respectively, for MRPA, and 75.0 and 89.8%, respectively, for VIBE. In conclusion, enhanced VIBE surpassed the other two sequences in revealing PE, particularly in segmental analysis, which is essential for emergency patients who have contraindications for receiving iodinated contrast and those who have concerns about the ionizing radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Fu
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.,Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China
| | - Qiguang Cheng
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.,Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China
| | - Xiangchuang Kong
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.,Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China
| | - Hui Ma
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.,Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China
| | - Ziqiao Lei
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.,Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China
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von Both I, Bruni SG, Herath JC. Differentiation of antemortem pulmonary thromboembolism and postmortem clot with unenhanced MRI: a case report. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 2018; 14:95-101. [DOI: 10.1007/s12024-017-9940-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Chen F, Shen YH, Zhu XQ, Zheng J, Wu FJ. Comparison between CT and MRI in the assessment of pulmonary embolism: A meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore) 2017; 96:e8935. [PMID: 29384894 PMCID: PMC6392641 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000008935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Besides pulmonary arteriography, a number of imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT), were adopted in the detection of identifying pulmonary embolism (PE). However, the contrast of sensitivity and specificity in these methods was studied little in a statistical way. To compare the effects of MRI and CT, this study used a series of methods to analyze data in included researches. METHODS A comprehensive computer search was conducted through internet up to July 2016. The quality assessment was performed by the Quality Assessment Tool for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies, version 2 tool. The diagnostic value of comparison between MRI and CT was evaluated by using the pooled estimate of sensitivity, specificity, and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve. In addition, sensitivity analysis and bias analysis were applied to ensure the accuracy of the results. RESULTS Ten studies with 590 cases were involved in the study. Only 2 trials had high risk regarding bias while other trials were supposed to be at low risk of applicability. Heterogeneity existed in analysis of both CT and MRI. The pooled sensitivity of CT was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.85-0.93), pooled specificity was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.77 to 0.95), the pooled sensitivity of MRI was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.89-0.94), and pooled specificity was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.77-0.97). The Q index of sensitivity and specificity for CT and MRI were 71.38, 19.67, 47.14, and 12.35, respectively. The SROC curve area under the curve of CT and MRI were 0.94 (95% CI: 0.91-0.96) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.91-0.95), respectively. CONCLUSION This meta-analysis demonstrates that MRI has better sensitivity and specificity in detecting subsegmental artery PE. MRI is a relatively better detection technique for PE. This conclusion is consistent with many published researches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Chen
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Taizhou Municipal Hospital, Taizhou
| | - Yi-Hong Shen
- Department of Respiration, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou
| | - Xu-Qing Zhu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Taizhou Municipal Hospital, Taizhou
| | - Jing Zheng
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Taizhou Municipal Hospital, Taizhou
| | - Feng-Jie Wu
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jiaxing, Jiaxing, China
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Osman AM, Abdeldayem EH, Osman NM. MR pulmonary angiography: Can it be used as an alternative for CT angiography in diagnosis of major pulmonary thrombosis? THE EGYPTIAN JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrnm.2016.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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Vidmar J, Serša I, Kralj E, Popovič P. Unsuccessful percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy in fibrin-rich high-risk pulmonary thromboembolism. Thromb J 2015; 13:30. [PMID: 26379477 PMCID: PMC4571107 DOI: 10.1186/s12959-015-0060-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background We report a case of unsuccessful percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy in treatment of a high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE). Pulmonary thromboemboli are commonly expected as a homogenous mass, rich with red blood cell content, which respond well to percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT). Catheter-based approach or surgical embolectomy are two treatment options that are usually considered for treatment of high-risk PE when the thrombolytic therapy fails or it is contraindicated due to a patient’s persisting hemodynamic compromise. Currently, selection criteria for PE treatment options are based mostly on the assessment of patient’s history. The aim of this report is to highlight a possible treatment complication in PMT of structurally heterogeneous thrombotic mass due to PMT inadequacy. Case presentation A 32 year-old male with polytrauma was admitted to an intensive care unit after a right-sided nephrectomy and evacuation of retroperitoneal hematoma. The patient initial haemostatic disorder was improved by administration of blood preparations, an anti-fibrinolytic agent and concentrates of fibrinogen. On the third day he presented sudden onset of hemodynamic instability and was incapable of standard CTA diagnostic procedure. Urgent and relevant investigations including transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiogram confirmed a high-risk PE. PMT was performed due to contraindications for systemic thrombolysis. Long-term PMT was attempted using aspiration with several devices. No major improvement was achieved in any of the treatments and the patient died. Autopsy confirmed a large heterogeneous thrombotic mass in the pulmonary trunk folding to the right main artery. Additional histological analysis revealed a high fibrin-rich content in the peripheral surroundings of the thrombus. Conclusion In the case, it was confirmed that the outcome of PMT was directly influenced by mechanical and histological features of the thromboembolus in high-risk PE. Formation of a rather complex thromboembolus in high-risk PE favors surgical embolectomy as the only life-saving treatment option. Current diagnostic imaging techniques do not enable precise assessment of thrombi structure and are therefore unable to identify patients who might benefit from PMT or open surgical embolectomy. Surgical backup treatment should be considered if there are no contraindications in the event of a failed catheter intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jernej Vidmar
- Institute of Physiology, Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 4, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia ; Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Igor Serša
- Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Eduard Kralj
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Peter Popovič
- Institue of Radiology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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