Assessment of pulmonary embolism related to active SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women

Aim: To analyze the sample of pregnant patients who underwent pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy to rule out the pulmonary embolism (PE) suspicion during the acute COVID-19 infection hospitalization period in our hospital.Material and methods: SPECT scintigraphy with a reduced dose (111 MBq) of 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin was performed in all of the patients (n = 5). The obtained images were interpreted by comparing the findings with the radiological images according to the PISAPED criteria.Results: Only one of the 5 patients was diagnosed with PE. Two patients obtained pathological findings of the scintigraphy attributable to radiological alterations due to COVID-19 pneumonia, and the other 2 had normal pulmonary perfussion.Conclusion: Given the non-specific features of the clinical manifestations and D-dimer values in COVID-19, as well as their similarity to those of PE, the pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy plays a crucial role in the screening of PE in these patients due to its high sensitivity and lower irradiation compared to CT. Despite the limited number of patients, the results obtained have special relevance related to the absence of scientific publications on this group of patients within the context of COVID-19 pandemic exceptional situation.(c) 2022 Sociedad Espan similar to ola de Medicina Nuclear e Imagen Molecular. Published by Elsevier Espan similar to a, S.L.U. All rights reserved.