Nina Farzan1, Parviz Ghezelbash2, Fatemeh Hamidi3, Alireza Zeraatchi3. 1. Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran. 2. Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Ayatollah Mousavi Hospital, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. 3. Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Valiasr-e-Asr Hospital, Ayatollah Mousavi Hospital, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The detection of pulmonary embolism in emergency department requires an urgent therapeutic and diagnostic attention. This study was performed to determine the accuracy and efficacy of ultrasound in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. METHODS: In this study, 110 patients who referred to the emergency department with traumatic embolism symptoms were enrolled. All the patients underwent computed tomography (CT) angiography. Patients were divided into positive and negative outcomes according to the results of transthoracic ultrasonography and CT angiography. RESULTS: In this study, 110 patients were enrolled, of whom 52 (47.3%) were male and 58 (52.7%) were female. Among the patients, 100 (90.9%) patients presented with dyspnea, whereas the frequency of pleural pain was 27% (24.5%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for ultrasound were 45.67%, 77.41%, 88.09%, and 35.29%, respectively. The positive outcomes from CT scan were significantly associated with gender, p = 0.005. The gender and transthoracic ultrasonography outcomes were also significantly correlated, p = 0.019, and the outcomes of ultrasound were significantly different from those of CT scan, p = 0.008. CONCLUSION: Transthoracic ultrasonography may be used to diagnose pulmonary embolism as a technique in the emergency department, especially in patients who are unable to move due to the severity of the disease. However, further comparative studies are required in this aspect.
OBJECTIVE: The detection of pulmonary embolism in emergency department requires an urgent therapeutic and diagnostic attention. This study was performed to determine the accuracy and efficacy of ultrasound in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. METHODS: In this study, 110 patients who referred to the emergency department with traumatic embolism symptoms were enrolled. All the patients underwent computed tomography (CT) angiography. Patients were divided into positive and negative outcomes according to the results of transthoracic ultrasonography and CT angiography. RESULTS: In this study, 110 patients were enrolled, of whom 52 (47.3%) were male and 58 (52.7%) were female. Among the patients, 100 (90.9%) patients presented with dyspnea, whereas the frequency of pleural pain was 27% (24.5%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for ultrasound were 45.67%, 77.41%, 88.09%, and 35.29%, respectively. The positive outcomes from CT scan were significantly associated with gender, p = 0.005. The gender and transthoracic ultrasonography outcomes were also significantly correlated, p = 0.019, and the outcomes of ultrasound were significantly different from those of CT scan, p = 0.008. CONCLUSION: Transthoracic ultrasonography may be used to diagnose pulmonary embolism as a technique in the emergency department, especially in patients who are unable to move due to the severity of the disease. However, further comparative studies are required in this aspect.
Authors: Marjan Rahimi Farzan; Sara Esmaeili; Zahra Mirzaasgari; Negin Mahmoudi Hamidabad; Seyedeh Niloufar Rafiei Alavi; Mohammad Taghi Joghataei; Mohammad Reza Motamed Journal: Ann Med Surg (Lond) Date: 2022-02-09