Can VQ scan diagnose PE?
A V/Q scan uses a small amount of a radioactive substance called a tracer that helps look for disease in the body. The scans help diagnose different lung conditions, including a pulmonary embolism (PE). A PE is a life-threatening blockage in an artery in the lungs.
What is the difference between a VQ scan and a CT scan?
Although V/Q scanning uses radioactive materials, the amount of patient radiation exposure is low. “The radiation exposure to the breasts of women in the child-bearing age group from CT is somewhere between 65 to 250 times greater than that from V/Q scintigraphy. Most quotes are in the 70 to 100 times range.”
What is the difference between a VQ scan and CTPA?
Diagnostic accuracy of CTPA and VQ SPECT (using current criteria) is similar (Table 4) although CTPA detects clots in smaller vessels. Radiation dose of VQ is significantly less than CTPA, which makes VQ preferable for young women and for follow up to establish baseline post-treatment.
When is a VQ scan used PE?
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If you have symptoms of a blood clot, such as shortness of breath and a sharp pain when you breathe in, your doctor might recommend a VQ scan. A blood clot is also known as a pulmonary embolism or PE. Your doctor might also ask you to have a VQ scan to test how well your lungs work before or after surgery.
Can a VQ scan show pneumonia?
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A V/Q lung scan may be performed in the case of serious lung disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or pneumonia as well as a lung performance quantification tool pre- and post-lung lobectomy surgery.
Why is it called VQ scan?
The ventilation-perfusion scan is a nuclear scan so named because it studies both airflow (ventilation) and blood flow (perfusion) in the lungs. The initials V-Q are used in mathematical equations that calculate airflow and blood flow.
Will a CT show a PE?
A CT scan is the most common diagnostic test doctors use to detect and diagnose a PE. If a doctor does identify a PE, they may decide to prescribe treatments, such as anticoagulants, or to simply monitor the clot over time.
How accurate is VQ scan?
The pooled sensitivity, specificity of V/Q SPECT in the diagnosis of acute PE patients, calculated on a per-patient-based analysis, was 96% (95% confidence interval [CI], 95-97%), 97% (95% CI, 96-98%).
Does a VQ scan show pulmonary hypertension?
VQ scanning is very important for several reasons, one being that it can help identify chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension or CTEPH, a disease caused by blood clots, which is the only potentially curable form of pulmonary hypertension.
Is CT angiography the new V/Q for PE?
However, over the past 10 years, CT angiography (CTA) has begun replacing V/Q in most medical centers and community hospitals. In many physicians’ minds, CTA is becoming the new gold standard for imaging PE. CT is faster and produces sharper images, which many believe make the results easier to interpret.
What is the difference between CT and V/Q?
Another of Cronin’s arguments is that CT is better than V/Q at depicting other conditions that clinically mimic PE, such as acute pneumonia, a lung abscess, pleural or pericardial effusion, aortic disease, cardiovascular disease, an esophageal rupture, and malignancy.
Should you perform a baseline V/Q scan for PE?
Even if the initial diagnosis of PE is made with CTA, he says, it is useful to perform a baseline V/Q scan because if symptoms recur, the V/Q scan will be useful for determining whether the PE is old or new. “This approach avoids the high radiation exposure associated with multiple repeat CTA scans,” he says.
What does V better than q mean on a Ventilation Scan?
A mismatch between the ventilation and perfusion scans (V better than Q) could indicate a blockage or PE. Although V/Q scanning uses radioactive materials, the amount of patient radiation exposure is low.
