Does pregnancy affect vascular enhancement in patients undergoing CT pulmonary angiography?
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether pregnancy affects contrast enhancement within the pulmonary arteries during computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA). This was a retrospective analysis of the CTPA examinations of 16 pregnant and 16 non-pregnant female patients, suspected of having an acute pulmonary embolus (PE), during the same time period. Pulmonary vascular enhancement was evaluated by measuring the CT density within the pulmonary arteries. In a blinded evaluation, subjective grading of contrast enhancement within the pulmonary arteries was also performed. There was a significant difference in arterial enhancement between the two groups, with pregnant patients having a mean pulmonary arterial density 112 HU less than patients in the control group [mean attenuation of 259.79 +/- 59.31 HU in pregnant patients versus 371.88 +/- 60.63 HU in non-pregnant patients (p < 0.001)]. The mean subjective pulmonary arterial enhancement score in the pregnant group was 8.19 +/-
Related Questions
- Does anatomic versus nonanatomic resection affect recurrence and survival in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal liver metastasis?
- Does addition of CT pelvic venography to CT pulmonary angiography protocols contribute to the diagnosis of thromboembolic disease?
- Does pregnancy affect vascular enhancement in patients undergoing CT pulmonary angiography?
