0300: Course of vascular obstruction after pulmonary embolism as assessed by ventilation-perfusion lung scan follow-up

BackgroundWe investigated the course of residual pulmonary vascular obstruction (RPVO) from discharge up to 3 – 6 months after pulmonary embolism (PE).MethodsProspective registry including 202 consecutive patients with PE who survived the acute phase (high risk PE: 12.4%, intermediate-risk: 65.8%, and low- risk: 21.8%). Patients with a prior history of chronic pulmonary disease were excluded. Ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) lung scan was performed in all patients before discharge, and again at follow-up (between 3 and 6 months after discharge). Treatment was in accordance with current guidelines. Evolution of RPVO was determined as the relative change in lung perfusion (in %) between discharge and follow-up V/Q scans.ResultsBetween both lung scans, RPVO decreased from 29.1±15% to 10.9±11.4%, with an average relative change of 61.7±33.4%. Overall, 49 patients (24.2%) presented a full resolution of lung perfusion. Relative change in RPVO was