Journal of Basic Research in Medical Sciences
J Basic Res Med Sci
Volume 13, Issue 4 (9-2026)
jbrms 2026, 13(4): 9-18 |
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Zakariaee S S, Ghaysouri A, Abdi S. Diagnostic Yield of Computed Tomographic Pulmonary Angiography for Evaluation of Patients with Pulmonary Embolism. jbrms 2026; 13 (4) :9-18
URL: http://jbrms.medilam.ac.ir/article-1-1068-en.html
URL: http://jbrms.medilam.ac.ir/article-1-1068-en.html
Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran & Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran , salman_zakariaee@yahoo.com
Abstract: (30 Views)
Introduction: The early diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) is crucial in improving patient outcomes and reducing mortality rates. Computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is the gold standard method for the diagnosis of PE. Evaluating the effectiveness of CTPA in detecting PE is particularly significant, as a suboptimal CTPA procedure could lead to severe morbidity and mortality for undiagnosed or mismanaged PE patients. In this study, the diagnostic yield of CTPA for the diagnosis of PE was evaluated.
Materials & Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, the electronic records of subjects suspected of having PE were surveyed from the years 2021 to 2023 at two tertiary care hospitals. Demographics, clinical manifestations, comorbidities, medical histories, and the confirmed diagnoses of the patients were retrieved. For each patient, the presence, site, and location of pulmonary embolism on CTPA scans were registered.
Results: The health records of 1,428 patients were reviewed, and after applying the exclusion criteria, 224 patients with PE were included in the study. One hundred and six of the patients (with a male sex ratio of 47.3%) were male, and their average age was 52.23±16.99 years. The results showed that the diagnostic yield of the CTPA approach was 35.71% (95% CI: 29.44% - 41.98%).
Conclusion: The results revealed that CTPA has a limited diagnostic yield, and planning to minimize errors and problems in the radiological data obtained from patients improves the diagnostic performance of this method. Continuous monitoring of CTPA performance, training healthcare professionals, and using clinical decision support tools could significantly impact the diagnosis of PE patients
Materials & Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, the electronic records of subjects suspected of having PE were surveyed from the years 2021 to 2023 at two tertiary care hospitals. Demographics, clinical manifestations, comorbidities, medical histories, and the confirmed diagnoses of the patients were retrieved. For each patient, the presence, site, and location of pulmonary embolism on CTPA scans were registered.
Results: The health records of 1,428 patients were reviewed, and after applying the exclusion criteria, 224 patients with PE were included in the study. One hundred and six of the patients (with a male sex ratio of 47.3%) were male, and their average age was 52.23±16.99 years. The results showed that the diagnostic yield of the CTPA approach was 35.71% (95% CI: 29.44% - 41.98%).
Conclusion: The results revealed that CTPA has a limited diagnostic yield, and planning to minimize errors and problems in the radiological data obtained from patients improves the diagnostic performance of this method. Continuous monitoring of CTPA performance, training healthcare professionals, and using clinical decision support tools could significantly impact the diagnosis of PE patients
Keywords: Pulmonary embolism, Diagnostic yield, Computed tomographic pulmonary angiography, Computed tomography, Thoracic imaging, CTPA
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Medical physics
Received: 2025/12/30 | Accepted: 2026/05/5 | Published: 2026/09/28
Received: 2025/12/30 | Accepted: 2026/05/5 | Published: 2026/09/28
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