The Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism
Diagnosis (PIOPED)
Objectives:
To determine the sensitivities and specificities of
ventillation/perfusion (V/Q) lung scans for acute pulmonary embolism (PE).
Background:
In 1983, reliable data on the incidence of pulmonary
embolism in the adult population and in groups identified at risk were not
available because the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic procedures
had not been determined. Estimates suggested there were about half a million
episodes of pulmonary embolism in hospitalized patients each year in the United
States. Deaths attributable to pulmonary embolism would be expected in about
one third of these patients if left untreated.
Subjects:
Eligible patients were 18 years of age or older
without contraindications for pulmonary angiography, and for whom a request was
made for a V/Q scan or a pulmonary angiogram. A total of 1,493 patients
provided consent to participate in PIOPED and the analysis was conducted in a
random sample of 933 patients. Patients suspected of pulmonary embolism
underwent a ventilation-perfusion scan. Patients with an abnormal perfusion
scan underwent angiography. All patients were followed for one year.
Conclusions:
Almost all patients with pulmonary embolism had
abnormal scans of high, intermediate, or low probability, but so did most
without pulmonary embolism. Only in a minority of patients did the clinical
assessment combined with the V/Q scan interpretation improve the overall chance
of reaching a correct diagnosis of acute PE. Although a high probability scan
usually indicated the presence of PE, only a small number of patients with PE
had a high probability scan. (JAMA 1990;263(20):2753-2759).
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Study Website |
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Study Documentation |
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Data Distribution Agreement |
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