When the clinical question is whether or not pulmonary emboli are present, a V/Q study can provide the answer with lower overall radiation dose than can CTA. The dose to the breast in women from a nuclear medicine lung scan is much less than the dose from CT performed with a breast shield. Imaging may not be required in patients with a low clinical likelihood of pulmonary emboli and a negative high-sensitivity D-Dimer.
Conditions: Pulmonary Emboli (Pulmonary Embolism)
Diagnostic Tests: Computed Tomography Angiogram (CTA), Spiral CT Pulmonary Angiogram, V/Q Scan, Ventilation Perfusion Nuclear Scan, Radionuclide Lung Study
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Sources
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