title: Ventilation-perfusion imaging and pulmonary angiography: changing pattern of use.
abstract: The hospitals and departmental records of the University of Virginia Medical Center from 1976 to 1980 show an increasing frequency of ventilation studies relative to perfusion studies and a decrease in frequency of ventilation-perfusion diagnosis of pulmonary embolus. Pulmonary angiograms have increased from one per 68 nuclear studies to one per 14. A review of 70 patients with correlating angiography or autopsy shows that 89% of nuclear studies were accurate. We have revised our interpretation criteria and indications for pulmonary angiography.
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography; D006801:Humans; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013997:Time Factors; D014692:Ventilation-Perfusion Ratio