The efficacy of CT for detection of right ventricular dysfunction in acute pulmonary embolism, and comparison with cardiac biomarkers

The purpose of this study was to evaluate results from computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) indicative of right ventricular dysfunction (RVD), and to assess the relationship of these results with cardiac biomarkers and mortality among patients with acute PE. This retrospective study involved 118 patients with acute PE proved by CTPA. CTPA variables were analyzed and compared with cardiac biomarkers and echocardiography (ECHO) findings. Compared with ECHO, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CTPA for detection of RVD were 85.7, 91.7, 93.7, and 81.5 %, respectively. ROC curve analysis for prediction of RVD resulted in areas under the curve of 0.925 for RV dimension (95 % CI 0.879−0.971, p