ORIGINAL ARTICLE

CT VENOGRAPHY VERSUS DOPPLER ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN SUSPECTED PULMONARY EMBOLISM AMONG ACUTE EXACERBATION COPD PATIENTS

By
Olfat El-Shannawy,¹ Suzan Salama,¹ Raafat Talaat,¹ Elham Abd El-Samee,² Hisham Kamel,³ Ali Hassan^1
1Chest Department,²Clinical pathology Department, ³Radiology Department

Pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) are different aspects of the same disease (VTE). Variable diagnostic approaches have been used to diagnose VTE. However the latency, lack of accuracy and the recorded complications necessitate a rapid, safe and accurate procedure for the diagnosis.

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to determine if CTV offers an accurate alternative to venous ultrasonography as a first line evaluation for DVT in the patients present with AECOPD with suspected PE as a single technique.

Patients and methods: Thirty-three patients presented with AECOPD were included in this study. All patients were undergoing spiral CT pulmonary angiography for the evaluation of PE. CTV was performed 3 minutes after initiation of the contrast bolus infusion and compared with Doppler ultrasonography of the lower extremities. The presence of PE or deep venous thrombosis (DVT) was recorded for all patients.
Results: The addition of CT venography to CT pulmonary angiography increases the detection rate of thromboembolic disease by 30%.

Conclusion: This study support the use of CTV after  spiral CT pulmonary angiography as an alternative to Doppler ultrasonography of the lower limbs in AECOPD patients presenting with suspected pulmonary embolism.

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