Key result
Increased CTPA use over eight years is linked to higher diagnostic yield for PE.
Why the study?
There is concern that increased availability of CTPA may be resulting in overuse in the diagnostic workup of patients with suspected pulmonary embolism, but trends in use and diagnostic yield over time were unclear.
Does the increasing use of CTPA for suspected pulmonary embolism result in a decreased diagnostic yield?
Population
Patients undergoing CTPA in the first 15 days of eight consecutive years at a single institution
Comparison
Increasing use of CTPA over time with diagnostic yield of PE and rate of incidental PE in CT chest for non-PE indications
Design
Retrospective observational cohort study
Authors
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Supports judicious CTPA use in suspected PE; leaves open whether rising yield reflects selection or incidence shifts.
Observational
No
Does the increasing use of CTPA for suspected pulmonary embolism result in a decreased diagnostic yield?
p-value: p=0.03
Despite increasing use of CTPA for suspected pulmonary embolism, the diagnostic yield of PE has also increased, suggesting appropriate clinical utilization rather than overuse.
Sharma et al. (2017) conducted an observational in Suspected pulmonary embolism. Computerized tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) was evaluated on Diagnostic yield of PE (p=0.03). Increasing use of CTPA over eight years was associated with an increased diagnostic yield of PE (p=0.03), while the rate of incidental PE on non-PE CT chest remained static at ~3.4%.
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