Echopulmonography as a Surrogate Modality in Disclosure of Occult Pulmonary Consequences of Pulmonary Vascular Occlusion

Abstract

Background: Diagnostic modalities of pulmonary embolism (PE) are still emerging day after day with new tools and promising characteristic features. Objective: The aim of our work was to assess the diagnostic yield of echopulmonography in patients with PE regarding pleural, parenchymal and vascular features of acute events and consequences. Methods: This is a prospective quasi-experimental study in which transthoracic echopulmonography was adopted as a screening method for patients with clinical suspicion of PE in comparison to Multi-Detector Computed Tomography Angiography of the chest, which is the best standard. This study was conducted on 32 patients at the chest department in Mansoura University Hospital and a Specialized Internal Medicine Hospital. Results: Echopulmonography was positive for pulmonary embolism at 68.75% but was of negative value in 31.25%. On the other hand, CTPA was positive for pulmonary embolism in (71.78%) but was of negative value in 28.12%. EPG confirm PE in 87% of patients diagnosed with PE by CTPA with a false-negative result of 13%. EPG could exclude PE in 77.7% of patients who were negative for PE by CTPA with a false-positive result of 22.2%. Conclusion: Echopulmonography might show promising features to be a substitute for computed tomography angiography in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.