title: Pulmonary emboli and extramedullary haematopoiesis in beta-thalassaemia intermedia.
abstract: We present a case of a 52-year-old woman with beta-thalassaemia intermedia under investigation for pulmonary hypertension. V/Q scan demonstrated bilateral pulmonary emboli. In addition there was evidence of central, posterior matched defects. CT pulmonary angiogram confirmed the presence of extramedullary haematopoiesis (EMH) in the paravertebral region. Although a few case reports of pulmonary emboli in thalassaemia intermedia have been published, to the best of our knowledge there have been no reports of matched defects caused by extramedullary haematopoiesis. This may be mistaken for enlarged pulmonary arteries, which are also seen in patients with pulmonary hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: Sameer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ariff
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Strickland
authors.forename: Adil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Nahhas
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006411:Hematopoiesis, Extramedullary; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011859:Radiography; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*