The Promising Role of Thoracic Ultrasonography in Diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism

Abstract

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is considered one of the serious cardiovascular emergencies that will increase the mortality if complicated with unstable hemodynamics. Because of its nonspecific clinical symptoms, it’s a great challenge to make a PE diagnosis. The gold standard in its diagnosis is computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA). Thoracic Ultrasound (TUS) may serve as a simple, non-invasive, and an accurate imaging modality that can be rapidly performed for immobile and critically ill patients as a bedside test for early detection of PE Aim: Highlight the role of Thoracic Ultrasonography in diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism Results: This study included 58 patients suspected to have pulmonary embolism clinically. 40 out of 58 patients finally diagnosed as PE by CTPA. In comparison to the CTPA, TUS was found true positive in 30 patients, false positive in 8 patients, true negative in 10 patients, and false negative in 10 patients, the sensitivity was 75%, the specificity was 55%. Positive and negative predictive value was 78.9% and 50% respectively with the accuracy was 69% Conclusion: TUS has a promising role in the evaluation of PE. It is a safe, non-invasive imaging modality that is readily available for use at the bedside in critically ill patient.