ArticleEuropean radiology2020
Pulmonary embolism during pregnancy: a 17-year single-center retrospective MDCT pulmonary angiography study.
Article in European radiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Review
- Diagnosing Pulmonary Embolism During Pregnancy.Chest · 2025Review
- Prevalence and Clinical Features of Pulmonary Embolism in Pregnancy and Puerperium in the Post-COVID-19 Era.Maternal and child health journal · 2025Article
- Validating the safety of low-dose CTPA in pregnancy: results from the OPTICA (Optimised CT Pulmonary Angiography in Pregnancy) Study.European radiology · 2024Observational
- Peripartum Cardiogenic Shock and Mechanical Circulatory Support.Interventional cardiology (London, England) · 2023Review
- Pregnancy-related acute myocardial infarction: a review of the recent literature.Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society · 2022Review
- Determining the diagnostic value of three clinical criteria Wells', YEARS and modified Geneva in pregnant women with suspected pulmonary thromboembolism.American journal of cardiovascular disease · 2022Article
- Diagnosing pulmonary thromboembolism: Concerns and controversies.Medical journal, Armed Forces India · 2022Review
- Can pregnancy-adapted algorithms avoid diagnostic imaging for pulmonary embolism?Hematology. American Society of Hematology. Education Program · 2020Review
- Pregnancy and cardiovascular disease.Nature reviews. Cardiology · 2020Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo determine the prevalence of pulmonary embolism (PE) and alternative diagnoses detected by computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in pregnant women; and to assess changes over time regarding radiation dose, technical quality, and examination frequency. MATERIALS AND
methodsThis retrospective study included all pregnant women referred for CTPA due to clinically suspected PE over 17 years. Two blinded radiologists reviewed the CTPAs in consensus with regard to PE, alternative diagnoses, and technical quality. We retrieved patient data regarding radiation dose metrics and associated clinical and laboratory parameters. Subgroup comparisons were performed (Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis tests).
resultsOf the 237 identified patients, 8 (3.3%) were excluded due to inadequate technical CTPA quality, and 229 patients were analyzed (mean age, 31.7 years; mean gestational age, 28 ± 7 weeks). The four different CT systems used over the study period had similar technical quality (p = 0.28). Of 229 patients 16 (7%) patients had PE, 144 (62.9%) had no abnormal findings, and 69 (30.1%) had an alternative diagnosis (consolidation, other pulmonary opacities, pleural effusion, and basal atelectasis). Gestational age, symptoms, and D-dimer levels were not significantly different between patients with or without PE (p > 0.05). Over time, radiation dose exposure decreased by 30% (p < 0.001), while the number of annual examinations increased by > 4-folds.
conclusionsIn pregnant women, CTPA rarely indicates PE and more often shows alternative diagnoses. Over 17 years, the use of CTPA in pregnancy has notably increased, while the radiation dose exposure has decreased by one third. KEY POINTS: • The use of CTPA in pregnancy has steadily risen over the last 17 years • In pregnant women, CTPA rarely reveals PE and more often shows alternative diagnoses • Recent technical improvements have substantially decreased the radiation dose exposure inherent in CTPA without reducing diagnostic image quality.
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