Whether it scans in four slices or 16, CT is the method of choice for detecting pulmonary emboli, researchers said at the RSNA meeting. Even four-slice technology boasts a negative predictive value greater than 99%, better than ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) studies or conventional pulmonary angiography.
Whether it scans in four slices or 16, CT is the method of choice for detecting pulmonary emboli, researchers said at the RSNA meeting. Even four-slice technology boasts a negative predictive value greater than 99%, better than ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) studies or conventional pulmonary angiography.
Differences among four-, eight-, and 16-slice scanners appear marginal so far, but few data are available to solidify any claims of superiority for 16, except in speed. Researchers at Stanford University clocked lung scan times at 26.6 seconds for four-slice, 9.25 seconds for eight-slice, and 5.45 seconds for 16.
Dr. Alessandro Napoli and colleagues at Stanford reviewed CT studies for 1240 consecutive patients referred for suspected pulmonary emboli. Overall, 20% of cases were deemed positive, with 41% of emboli found in the segmental arteries, 27% in lobal regions, 17% in subsegmental arteries, and 15% on the main branches.
While there was no statistically significant difference in detection rates among the three generations of scanners, readers said that eight- and 16-slice studies yielded more and clearer diagnostic data. The 16-slice scanner may eventually prove better at finding subsegmental emboli, but only a small number of cases were included in the study.
If a CT study is negative, it is safe to forgo further examination. Researchers at the University of South Carolina conducted a metastudy of 14 published papers with 3283 patients who had undergone CTA to evaluate suspected pulmonary emboli, had negative findings, and had stopped anticoagulation therapy based on those findings. Fourteen developed fatal pulmonary embolism, 23 demonstrated nonfatal embolism, and 52 showed evidence of deep venous thrombosis during follow-up.
The studies produced 95% to 100% negative predictive value (NPV), with an average of 99.1%. NPV for mortality was 99.4%. Whether the CTAs were performed on single-slice or multislice CT made no significant difference. By comparison, conventional pulmonary angiography has an NPV of 98.4%, and V/Q studies average 88%.
Study Reaffirms Low Risk for csPCa with Biopsy Omission After Negative Prostate MRI
December 19th 2024In a new study involving nearly 600 biopsy-naïve men, researchers found that only 4 percent of those with negative prostate MRI had clinically significant prostate cancer after three years of active monitoring.
Study Examines Impact of Deep Learning on Fast MRI Protocols for Knee Pain
December 17th 2024Ten-minute and five-minute knee MRI exams with compressed sequences facilitated by deep learning offered nearly equivalent sensitivity and specificity as an 18-minute conventional MRI knee exam, according to research presented recently at the RSNA conference.
Can Radiomics Bolster Low-Dose CT Prognostic Assessment for High-Risk Lung Adenocarcinoma?
December 16th 2024A CT-based radiomic model offered over 10 percent higher specificity and positive predictive value for high-risk lung adenocarcinoma in comparison to a radiographic model, according to external validation testing in a recent study.