Acute Pulmonary Embolism

Figure

Pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy

An 87-year-old man presented in poor overall condition because of progressively severe dyspnea of 10 days’ duration. He underwent pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy. The image shows a nearly total absence of perfusion of the right upper lobe and of multiple other regions in both lungs. In particular, the clearly circumscribed perfusion deficit on the right was pathognomonic for pulmonary embolism. Accordingly, the lung perfusion fractions were abnormally asymmetric— 67% on the left and 33% on the right. Low-molecular-weight heparin was given and the patient was urgently admitted to the hospital. A further study revealed a four-level deep venous thrombosis of the left lower limb as the source of the massive pulmonary arterial embolus. This case illustrates the key role of scintigraphy in the sequence of diagnostic tests for pulmonary embolism. Despite the severity of this patient’s problem, a rapid and sensitive diagnostic study enabled the immediate initiation of appropriate treatment, with a successful outcome.

Dr. med. Anne Frölich, Christoph Neumann, Praxis für Nuklearmedizin, Leipzig,

Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that no conflict of interest exists.

Cite this as: Frölich A, Neumann C: Acute pulmonary embolism. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2017; 114: 398. DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2017.0398

Translated from the original German by Ethan Taub, M.D.