title: Clinical consequences of an indeterminate CT pulmonary angiogram in cancer patients.
abstract: Our aim was to evaluate clinical management and outcomes in cancer patients who had an indeterminate Computed Tomographic Pulmonary Angiogram (CTPA) for the assessment of pulmonary embolus. We reviewed 1000 CTPA studies and identified 251 limited (indeterminate) CTPA. We examined follow-up imaging and reviewed clinical management decisions and any positive diagnosis of venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) within the subsequent 90 days. 60 patients (23.9%) had a follow-up imaging study within five days. 8 had a positive study for VTE disease within 5 days. 3 patients (1.2%) were placed on anticoagulation therapy based on the limited CT result.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065. Electronic address: hayess@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Sara A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 410 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065. Electronic address: soffg@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Gerald A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Soff
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 307 East 63rd Street, New York, NY 10065. Electronic address: ZaborE@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Emily C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Zabor
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 307 East 63rd Street, New York, NY 10065. Electronic address: moskowc1@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Chaya S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Moskowitz
authors.affiliation: Winthrop Radiology Associates, 259 1st St, Mineola, NY 11501. Electronic address: CLiu@Winthrop.org.
authors.forename: Corinne C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065. Electronic address: ginsberm@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Michelle S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ginsberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: CT pulmonary angiogram; Computed tomography; Indeterminate; Pulmonary embolus