Tahira Nishtar, Nosheen Noor, Tayyab Seemab, Tabish Ahmad.
Computed tomography pulmonary angiography for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.
Pak Heart J Jan ;52(2):149-53.

Objective: To study the role of Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography in the detection of pulmonary embolism. Methodology: This retrospective observational study was performed in Radiology Department, Lady Reading Hospital, Medical Teaching Institute, Peshawar, Pakistan, from July 2017 to December 2018. Computerized clinical and diagnostic record of patients referred for CT Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA) to radiology department for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) were retrieved from the e-log and retrospectively analysed. Patients referred for CTPA with suspicion of PE were included in the study. Patients undergoing CTPA for conditions other than PE were excluded from the study. Results: Amongst the total of 117 patients, 52 were males. Age range was from 10-100 years with a mean age of 51 years. A total of 74 out of 117 patients(63.2%) were reported negative for PE while 43 cases (36.8%) were reported positive for PE. The most common patient presentation was shortness of breath (58.1%) and commonest risk factor was deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (20.9%). Conclusion: CTPA is a minimally invasive fast technique for the detection or exclusion of pulmonary embolism. It is an investigation of choice having a high sensitivity and specificity in symptomatic patients with identifiable risk factors. Its availability is mandatory in tertiary care hospitals for early accurate diagnosis giving a road map for prompt patient management.

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