Modern aspects of MSCT diagnostics of acute massive pulmonary embolism
Authors: Sukhova M. B. , Trofimova T. N. 
Published: January 2022

Introduction: The growing importance of the MSCT method in the case of acute massive pulmonary embolism forms new diagnostic directions  — the determination of objective MSCT markers of right ventricular dysfunction and the search for new, previously ignored, MSCT parameters of angiographic severity of embolic load.The purpose of the study: to evaluate the prognostic role and predictivity of the results of MSCT angiopulmonography in the case of choosing a surgical method for the treatment of pulmonary embolism.Research objectives. Тo analyze the influence of the volume of preserved peripheral arterial pulmonary blood flow on the results of surgical treatment of acute massive PE and the dependence of the average pressure in the pulmonary artery on the MSCT parameters.Materials and methods: this work examines the surgical approach to the treatment and possibilities of preoperative MSCT diagnosis of acute massive pulmonary embolism. The 7-year analysis included the analysis of more than 1,200 MSCT studies for acute massive pulmonary embolism. 147 patients were selected for surgical treatment and successfully operated on, the remaining patients received conservative therapy with dynamic MSCT observation. According to international classifiers, the analysis of classes and categories of intraoperative and postoperative complications of emergency surgical treatment was performed in comparison with the initial MSCT parameters of acute massive PE.Results. The smaller the number of segmental branches of the pulmonary artery is determined at the preoperative stage, the higher the risks of mortality and complications of emergency surgical treatment of acute massive PE (p<0,001). A direct relationship between the average pressure in the pulmonary artery and the MSCT parameter-the diameter of the unpaired vein (p<0,001) was confirmed. An increase in the number of visualized bronchial arteries corresponds to an increase in the average pressure in the pulmonary artery (p<0,05).Discussion. The lightning speed of the course of pulmonary embolism dictates an exceptional approach to the completeness of the diagnosis of the disease, and the change in treatment tactics due to the increasing demand for surgical methods of treatment changes the diagnostic approach to acute pulmonary embolism in general. The success of surgical treatment of PE directly depends on the completeness and speed of preoperative MSCT diagnostics, in particular, on the quality of analysis of intra-pulmonary and intracardiac hemodynamics.Conclusion: For acute massive PE with obstruction at the level of the trunk and / or main branches of the pulmonary artery, with a sharp and often uncontrolled progression of right ventricular failure, risk stratification in «real time» becomes the most relevant, the time factor becomes of paramount importance for determining treatment tactics. The inclusion of previously ignored MSCT parameters in the algorithm of preoperative diagnosis allows us to modify the algorithm of preoperative diagnosis, to form and introduce the concept of the reference MSCT status of a patient with acute massive PE.