INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a major cause of mortality during pregnancy. It is estimated that about 20% of maternal deaths in north america are due to PE. A lung V/Q study in a standard (non-gravid) patient typically consists of a low dosage ventilation study followed by a higher dosage perfusion study. In some centers however, perfusion-only imaging, without accompanying ventilation imaging has been employed. In this method, a several-fold lower dose of radioactivity is used. Perfusion-only imaging has multiple advantages. In addition to reduction of radiation dose to the mother and the fetus, there is decreased cost to the health-care system as well as improved patient convenience and shortened hospital workflow. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed at assessing the negative predictive value (among other diagnostic accuracy measures) of perfusion-only imaging in a large group of pregnant patients with suspected pulmonary embolism. METHODS: This study was a retrospective cohort study of the entire pregnant patients with suspected PE who underwent V/Q scan at The Ottawa Hospital and their V/Q scans were available in the PACS system. After acquiring REB approval, a comprehensive search in the PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) was conducted to find pregnant patients who were assessed for PE in our division since 2004 (the earliest date the V/Q images were available in our system). A statistical consultation was made before the initiation of data collection and at the time of data analysis. All patients who met the inclusion criteria were included. Initially a nuclear medicine resident with 2 years of experience read all the perfusion- only images. The PISAPED criteria were used for image interpretation. Then the results were compared against the reports made by nuclear medicine staffs that were available to us in our electronic system and a final interpretation was made after such comparison. The follow-up clinical notes were used as the gold standard to make a final diagnosis of PE. Finally, diagnostic accuracy measures were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 364 patients were included. Mean maternal age at the time of lung V/Q scan was 30.3 years-old (SD=5.8) ranging from 16 to 51 years-old. From a total of 362 lung perfusion scans, 316/362 (87.3%) scans interpreted as normal, 17/362 (4.7%) scans were interpreted as high probability and 29/362 (8.0%) scans were interpreted as non-diagnostic. Pulmonary embolism was diagnosed in a total of 15 patients directly after performing lung scan. None of the patients with normal perfusion-only scans were diagnosed later with PE, proving a negative predictive value of 100%. The sensitivity and specificity of perfusion-only imaging after including the non-diagnostic studies were 100% (100% to 100%) and 99.1% (88.1% to 94.1%), respectively with a negative predictive value of 100% (100% to 100%) and a positive predictive value of 32.6% (19.1% to 46.2%). Conclusion: The results of the current study show that perfusion-only imaging has a very high negative predictive value for PE in pregnant population and therefore can exclude PE with a very high degree of accuracy.

Lungscintigrafi är en av de mest vanligt förekommande nuklearmedicinska undersökningarna. Akut lungemboli är en huvudindikation för lungscintigrafi. Undersökningen består av två delar, först undersöks ventilationsdelen och sedan perfusions-fördelningen i lungan. Vid ventilationen inhalerar patienten 99mTc-Technegas. Vid perfusionen injiceras 99mTc-Pulmocis (MAA) intravenöst. Enligt EANM ligger den administrerade aktiviteten mellan 25 – 30 MBq för Technegas och mellan 140 – 160 MBq för Pulmocis. Studien utfördes på avdelningen klinisk fysiologi vid Centralsjukhuset Kristianstad. Först utfördes en fantomstudie före patientstudien för att testa metoden. Den inkluderade totalt 20 patienter som hade en bokad tid för lungscintigrafi. Syftet med studien var att optimera metoden för lungscintigrafi genom att reducera patientstråldosen genom att uppskatta aktiviteten som administreras vid ventilation. Vidare var syftet att kontrollera om kvoten mellan ventilation- och perfussionsundersökningen överensstämmer. Detta utfördes med hjälp av två metoder: den ena var en gammadetektor som mätte antalet counts som patienten har andats in och den andra var med att kvantifiera bilderna efter en slutförd undersökning. Resultaten över aktiviteten i ventilationsbilderna i Xeleris Software har erhållits med en beräkning. Perfusionen beräknades genom att mäta sprutans aktivitet före och efter undersökningen. Genom dessa värden kunde kvoten mellan perfusion och ventilation erhållas. Medelvärdet för alla patienter visar att kvoten blir fyra gånger så hög i perfusion som i ventilation. Resultaten över mätmetoderna visade att gammadetektorn har samma effektivitet som kamerans detektorer. Det erhölls en positiv korrelationskoefficient mellan metoderna och den låg på 0,79. Med Bland-Altmans diagram var 95% av värden för båda metoderna inom referensramarna förutom ett extremvärde som berodde på en hög inhalerad aktivitet. Slutsatsen blir att mätmetoden kräver en större studie med fler deltagare för att kunna implementera mätningen med gammadetektorn i kliniken. / Pulmonary scintigraphy is one of the most common nuclear medicine examinations. Acute pulmonary embolism is a major indication for pulmonary scintigraphy. The examination consists of two parts, first the ventilation part and then the perfusion distribution in the lung is examined. During ventilation, the patient inhales 99mTc-Technegas. At perfusion, 99m Tc-Pulmocis (MAA) is injected intravenously. According to EANM, the administered activity is between 25 - 30 MBq for Technegas and between 140 - 160 MBq for Pulmocis. The study was performed at the department of Clinical physiology at Central Hospital Kristianstad. A phantom study was first performed before the patient study to test the method. It included a total of 20 patients who had an appointment for pulmonary scintigraphy. The aim of the study was to optimize the method of pulmonary scintigraphy by reducing the patient radiation dose by estimating the activity administered during ventilation and perfusion. Furthermore, the aim was to check whether the ratio between the ventilation and perfusion examination is correct. This was done using two methods: one was a gamma detector that measured the number of counts that the patient has inhaled, and the other was involved in quantifying the images after a completed examination. The results of the activity in the ventilation images in Xeleris Software have been calculated. Perfusion is calculated by measuring the activity of the syringe before and after the examination. Through these values, the ratio between perfusion and ventilation could be obtained. The average value for the ratio and diagrams showed that the ratio is four times as much in perfusion as in ventilation. The results of the measurement methods showed that the gamma detector has the same efficiency as the camera detectors. A correlation coefficient was maintained between methods that indicated a good significance. With Bland-Altman's diagram, 95% of the values ​​for both methods were within the frame of reference except for an extreme value that was due to a high inhaled activity. The conclusion is that the measurement method requires a larger study with more participants to be able to implement the measurement with the gamma detector in clinical practice.