Question

What tests are ordered when the patient is high risk versus low risk for pulmonary embolus?

A. Low:

B. High:

Answer 1

Pulmonary embolism is the blockage of pulmonary arteries by thrombus ,fat or air emboli, and tumour tissue. Deep venous thrombosis a related cvondition refers to thrombus formation in the deep veins usually in the calf or thigh, but sometimes in arms , especially in patients with peripherally inserted central catheters.Venous thromboembolism is the term that used in both deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.
TESTS IN LOW RISK PULMONARY EMBOLISM.
it includes chest x-ray,ECG, pulse oximetry, arterial blood gas analysis, ventilation- perfusion scan, plasma D-dimer testing.
HIGH RISK TESTS IN PULMONARY EMBOLISM. if the lung scan(ventilation - perfusion scan) is inconclusive, pulmonary angiography which is an invasive procedure that involves insertion of catheter through antecubital or femoral vein and inject a contrast to to visualize the pulmonary vascular system and location of the embolus. A spiral(or helical) computed tomography used to diagonase pulmonary embolus .conventional CT scans rotate a frame 360 degrees in one direction were , the spiral ct is able to continuously rotate while obtaining slices and does not have to start and stop between each slice.The data can be computer reconstructed to allow for a three dimensional picture of the area being imaged and assist in emboli visualization. Multislice spiral CT scans are becoming available that can collect more valuable data than previous systems.