WEDNESDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- Pelvic imaging using computed tomography (CT) is not necessary for the diagnosis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with suspected of having a pulmonary embolus, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society, held from May 1 to 6 in Chicago.
Charbel Ishak, M.D., of the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y., and colleagues reviewed data on 1,527 consecutive patients who visited their large community medical center between 2006 and 2008 and who had concomitant CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and CT lower extremity venography (CTLV) to assess for pulmonary embolism (PE) and VTE in the pelvis and bilateral lower extremities.
The investigators found that only 0.3 percent of patients presented with isolated pelvic VTE after pulmonary embolism was ruled out of the CT protocol. The investigators also found that isolated pelvic VTE was present in 3.3 percent of all CTLV showing evidence of VTE. They found no significant statistical difference in the detection of VTE that resulted from the inclusion or exclusion of the pelvis in the CTLV.
"Radiologists and technologists can eliminate pelvic imaging while acquiring only images of the lower extremities with CT venography, starting from groin to below the knee. We believe that by stopping the imaging of the pelvis, we can decrease patient radiation dose without significantly affecting the diagnosis of VTE," Ishak said in a statement.
Abstract No. 075
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