Detection of Central Pulmonary Embolism on Non-Contrast CT

Abstract

ulmonary embolism (PE) is a common condition with considerable morbidity and mortality; it is more often diagnosed post-mortem by pathologists than in vivo by clinicians. Prompt and accurate diagnosis is difficult because PE may be clinically silent, the symptoms are vague and nonspecific, and in addition there is no definitive, non-invasive diagnostic test to establish its diagnosis. The advent of chest CT scanning for the diagnosis of PE was hailed as an improvement. By 2001, MSCT scanning of the chest was being used more often than V/Q scanning to investigate suspected PE and can image the entire chest with sub-millimeter resolution and requires a breath hold of less than 10 seconds. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is the most commonly used modality to diagnose pulmonary embolism and CTA also allows appreciating vessel. The aim of this study is to discuss the reliability and clinical effectiveness of the incidental detection of a PE on non-contrast CT which could be advantageous in the emergent context and also in patients with pre-existing renal disease or