title: Comprehensive assessment of lung CT attenuation alteration at perfusion defects of acute pulmonary thromboembolism with breath-hold SPECT-CT fusion images.
abstract: Regional computed tomography attenuation (CTA) alteration at perfusion defects in acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) was comprehensively assessed using deep-inspiratory breath-hold SPECT-CT fusion images. Subjects were 14 acute and 9 chronic PTE patients and 13 control subjects. Regional perfusion, CTA, and intravascular clots were correlated on deep-inspiratory breath-hold SPECT-unenhanced/angiographic CT fusion images. Fusion images visualized hypo-CTA in 57% of the acute PTE patients, which preferentially occurred at extensively and severely decreased perfusion areas caused by central clots. CTA at 35 defects of acute PTE was significantly decreased compared with that of normal lungs (P<0.001), but the degree was less compared with chronic PTE (P<0.0001). Fusion images also revealed variable relationships of clots and regional perfusion/CTA in the distal lungs of each central clot. Fusion images provide important information about the actual effects of intravascular clots on peripheral perfusion/CTA and indicate that lung CTA can be decreased at perfusion defects in acute PTE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan. sugar@po.cc.yamaguchi-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suga
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwanaga
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Aska
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seto
authors.forename: Naofumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011652:Pulmonary Circulation; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013668:Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013668:Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin