Is Helical CT Angiography a Better Screen for Pulmonary Embolism?
Accurate diagnosis of pulmonary embolism is important in reducing the morbidity and mortality of this disease. Diagnosis is difficult because the symptoms of pulmonary embolism are vague and nonspecific. In addition, the current “gold standard” for diagnosing pulmonary embolism is pulmonary angiography, an invasive test with a significant incidence of complications that limit its usefulness. The ventilation-perfusion radionuclide lung scan has been used as a noninvasive study for pulmonary embolism. The development of helical computed tomographic (CT) angiography provides another option in the evaluation of patients with suspected pulmonary embolism. Blachere and colleagues compared helical CT angiography and ventilation-perfusion radionuclide lung scanning as initial tests in the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism. During an 18-month period, 216 consecutive patients suspected of having acute pulmonary embolism were evaluated by helical CT angiography, ventilation-perfusion radionuc
