EANM guideline for ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism and beyond

Abstract

These guidelines update the previous EANM 2009 guidelines on the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE). Relevant new aspects are related to (a) quantification of PE and other ventilation/perfusion defects; (b) follow-up of patients with PE; (c) chronic PE; and (d) description of additional pulmonary physiological changes leading to diagnoses of left ventricular heart failure (HF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia. The diagnosis of PE should be reported when a mismatch of one segment or two subsegments is found. For ventilation, Technegas or krypton gas is preferred over diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) in patients with COPD. Tomographic imaging with V/P SPECT has higher sensitivity and specificity for PE compared with planar imaging. Absence of contraindications makes V/P SPECT an essential method for the diagnosis of PE. When V/P SPECT is combined with a low-dose CT, the specificity of the test can be further improved, especially in patients with other lung diseases. Pitfalls in V/P SPECT interpretation are discussed. In conclusion, V/P SPECT is strongly recommended as it accurately establishes the diagnosis of PE even in the presence of diseases like COPD, HF and pneumonia and has no contraindications.