Helical Computed Tomography for Diagnosing Pulmonary Embolism
Authors: John R. Mayo
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2000)

Letters19 September 2000Helical Computed Tomography for Diagnosing Pulmonary EmbolismJohn R. Mayo, MD, Elisabeth M. Baile, MSc, and Peter D. Pare, MDJohn R. Mayo, MDVancouver General Hospital; Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1N9, Canada (Mayo)St. Paul's Hospital; Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 1Y6, Canada (Baile, Pare)Search for more papers by this author, Elisabeth M. Baile, MScVancouver General Hospital; Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1N9, Canada (Mayo)St. Paul's Hospital; Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 1Y6, Canada (Baile, Pare)Search for more papers by this author, and Peter D. Pare, MDVancouver General Hospital; Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1N9, Canada (Mayo)St. Paul's Hospital; Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 1Y6, Canada (Baile, Pare)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-133-6-200009190-00025 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:In their extensive review evaluating helical computed tomography (CT) for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, Rathbun and colleagues (1) conclude that CT has not yet been adequately evaluated and that definitive, large, prospective studies are needed to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and safety of CT for diagnosing this condition.We suggest that such a study is unnecessary and would be practically impossible. In a recent study (2) of a porcine model of pulmonary embolism in which a methacrylate cast of the pulmonary vasculature was used as an independent gold standard, we reported that CT is comparable to ...References1. Rathbun SW, Raskob GE, Whitsett TL. Sensitivity and specificity of helical computed tomography in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism: a systematic review. Ann Intern Med. 2000;132:227-32. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Baile EM, King GG, Muller NL, D'Yachkova Y, Coche EE, Pare PD, Mayo JR. Spiral computed tomography is comparable to angiography for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2000;161:1010-5. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Vancouver General Hospital; Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1N9, Canada (Mayo)St. Paul's Hospital; Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 1Y6, Canada (Baile, Pare) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoSensitivity and Specificity of Helical Computed Tomography in the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism Suman W. Rathbun , Gary E. Raskob , and Thomas L. Whitsett Helical Computed Tomography for Diagnosing Pulmonary Embolism Suman W. Rathbun , Gary E. Raskob , and Thomas L. Whitsett Metrics 19 September 2000Volume 133, Issue 6Page: 483-484KeywordsAngiographyComputed axial tomographyForecastingPositive predictive valueProspective studiesPulmonary embolismSafetySafety studiesSpecificity ePublished: 19 September 2000 Issue Published: 19 September 2000 CopyrightCopyright © 2000 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...