EVALUATING THE DIAGNOSTIC EFFICACY OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY IN PULMONARY EMBOLISM.
Keywords:
Pulmonary embolism; computed tomography angiography; diagnostic accuracy; sensitivity; specificity; subsegmental embolism; thromboembolism; chest pain; D-dimer.Abstract
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is an acute, life-threatening cardiovascular condition associated with high mortality rates if not diagnosed promptly. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of computed tomography angiography (CTA) in diagnosing PE and to compare it with other imaging modalities (ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy, D-dimer testing, echocardiography). A total of 80 patients with suspected PE were prospectively enrolled. The CTA protocol was used as the standard method, and results were compared with clinical follow-up and reference standard. CTA demonstrated a sensitivity of 96% (95% CI: 92–98%) and a specificity of 94% (95% CI: 89–97%). Even for small subsegmental emboli, CTA showed high diagnostic accuracy (93%). Based on CTA, the extent and localization of embolism were accurately assessed in 78% of patients, allowing optimization of treatment strategies. In conclusion, CTA has high diagnostic efficacy in PE and can be recommended as a first-line imaging modality.
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