Survival and restoration of pulmonary perfusion in a long-term follow-up of patients after acute pulmonary embolism.

We followed prospectively 834 consecutive patients (70% inpatients), evaluated for suspected pulmonary embolism, for a median time of 2.1 years (range, 0-4.8 yr), and compared the survival rates in patients with proven pulmonary embolism (n=320) with those without (n=514).

Interatrial right-to-left shunt after lung surgery: diagnostic value of perfusion lung scanning.

A 61-year-old woman presented with platypnea and orthodeoxia after right pneumonectomy for lung cancer. A perfusion lung scan taken after tracer injection in the sitting position showed an extrapulmonary uptake of radioactivity consistent with a right-to-left shunt. Such extrapulmonary uptake was no longer evident when tracer was injected in supine posture.

A diagnostic strategy for pulmonary embolism based on standardised pretest probability and perfusion lung scanning: a management study.

Pulmonary embolism remains a challenging diagnostic problem. We developed a simple diagnostic strategy based on combination of assessment of the pretest probability with perfusion lung scan results to reduce the need for pulmonary angiography. We studied 390 consecutive patients (78% in-patients) with suspected pulmonary embolism.