Radiological features of dual-energy CT lung perfusion imaging in patients with acute pulmonary embolism: comparison with CT pulmonary angiography / 中国医学科学院学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the relationship of the perfusion defects in the dual-energy CT lung perfusion image and the filling defects in the CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in patients with acute pulmonary embolism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The clinical data of 22 patients with acute pulmonary embolism were retrospectively analyzed. All of them underwent contrast CT scan in two phases using dual-energy CT the first is pulmonary artery phase, and the second was performed immediately after the first phase using dual-energy scan covered the whole lung. Perfusion defects in the lung perfusion images were compared with the filling defects in the CTPA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Complete filling defects of segmental and subsegmental pulmonary arteries mostly showed correspondence perfusion defects in the CT perfusion map, accounting for 83% and 62% respectively. However, when there were partial or central filling defects, most of them were partial perfusion defects or normal in the CT perfusion map. Three segmental perfusion defects were depicted without the visualization of endoluminal thrombi within the corresponding arteries.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The perfusion defects in the CT lung perfusion image are not completely corresponding to the filling defects in the CTPA. The combination of CTPA and CT lung perfusion map will offer more information for the acute pulmonary embolism.</p>