IMAGING FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF PULMONARY EMBOLISM IN PREGNANT WOMEN

A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) or ventilation-perfusion (VQ) scanning offer advantages in imaging the pregnant woman with a possible deep vein thrombosis. A total of 80 papers was found using the reported search, of which four represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is that a ventilation-perfusion (or perfusion) scan should be prioritised if the chest x-ray is normal. In the case of an abnormal chest x-ray, a CT pulmonary angiography scan will be better in finding an alternative diagnosis.