Pulmonary Embolism
Authors: I.R. MCDOUGALL
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1978)

Letters and Corrections1 May 1978Pulmonary EmbolismI.R. MCDOUGALL, M.B., CH.B., PH.D., MICHAEL L. GORIS, M.D., PH.D., JOSEPH P. KRISS, M.D.I.R. MCDOUGALL, M.B., CH.B., PH.D.Search for more papers by this author, MICHAEL L. GORIS, M.D., PH.D.Search for more papers by this author, JOSEPH P. KRISS, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-88-5-711 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the editor: When someone of Dr. Eugene Robin's stature makes statements that disagree with our knowledge, we have to be exceedingly cautious about expressing an opinion, for fear that we are wrong. However, we feel obliged to clarify certain aspects of his article "Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment of Pulmonary Embolism: The Emperor May Have No Clothes" (Ann Intern Med 87:775-781, 1977).First, between April 1972 and April 1977, he states that 157 pulmonary angiograms were done in patients "based on a suitable clinical history, hypoxemia, positive perfusion scans, and often normal ventilation scans." In fact, our figures show that during...References1. MCNEIL B: A diagnostic strategy using ventilation-perfusion studies in patients suspect for pulmonary embolism. J Nucl Med 17:613-616, 1976 MedlineGoogle Scholar2. BELL W and SIMON T: A comparative analysis of pulmonary perfusion scans with pulmonary angiograms. From a National Cooperative Study. Am Heart J 92:700-706, 1976 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. The urokinase-pulmonary embolism trial: A national cooperative study. Perfusion lung scanning. Circulation 47 (suppl II):46-50, 1973 Google Scholar4. GORIS M, DASPIT S, WALTER J, MCRAE J, and LAMB J: Application of ventilation lung imaging with 81mkrypton. Radiology 122:399-403, 1977 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. ROBIN E: Overdiagnosis and overtreatment of pulmonary embolism. The emperor may have no clothes. Ann Intern Med 87:775-781, 1977 LinkGoogle Scholar2. BELL W and SIMON T: A comparative analysis of pulmonary perfusion scans with pulmonary angiograms. From a national cooperative study. Am Heart J 92:700-706, 1976 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. MCNEIL B: A diagnostic strategy using ventilation-perfusion studies in patients suspect for pulmonary embolism. J Nucl Med 17:613-616, 1976 MedlineGoogle Scholar4. ALDERSON P, RUJANAVECH N, SECKER-WALKER R, and MCKNIGHT R: The role of 133Xe ventilation studies in the scintigraphic detection of pulmonary embolism. Radiology 120:633-640, 1976 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. DALEN J and ALPERT J: Natural history of pulmonary embolism. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 17:259-270, 1975 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. MCNEIL B: A diagnostic strategy using ventilation-perfusion studies in patients suspect for pulmonary embolism. J Nucl Med 17:613-616, 1976 MedlineGoogle Scholar1. FRIES J: A data bank for the clinician? N Engl J Med 294:1400-1402, 1976 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. ROSATI R, MCNEER J, STARMER C, MITTLER B, MORRIS J, and WALLACE A: A new information system for medical practice. Arch Intern Med 135:1017-1024, 1975 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. PORTER J and JICK H: Drug-related deaths among medical inpatients. JAMA 237:879-881, 1977 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. ARMSTRONG B, DINAN B, and JICK H: Fatal drug reactions in patients admitted to surgical services. Am J Surg 132:643-645, 1976 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. SHAPIRO S, SLONE D, LEWIS G, and JICK H: Fatal drug reactions among medical inpatients. JAMA 216:467-472, 1971 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. JICK H, SLONE D, BORDA I, and SHAPIRO S: Efficacy and toxicity of heparin in relation to age and sex. N Engl J Med 279:284-289, 1968 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. MCNEIL B: A diagnostic strategy using ventilation-perfusion studies in patients suspect for pulmonary embolism. J Nucl Med 17:613-616, 1976 MedlineGoogle Scholar2. The urokinase pulmonary embolism trial: A national cooperative study. Circulation 47 (suppl II):1-108, 1973 Google Scholar3. BELL W, SIMON T, and DEMETS D: The clinical features of submassive and massive pulmonary embolism. Am J Med 62:355-360, 1977 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. BELL W and SIMON T: A comparative analysis of pulmonary perfusion scans with pulmonary angiograms. From a National Cooperative Study. Am Heart J 92:700-706, 1976 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. TETALMAN M, HOFFER P, HECK L, KUNZMANN A, and GOTTSCHALK A: Perfusion scans in normal volunteers. Radiology 106:593-594, 1973 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: I.R. MCDOUGALL, M.B., CH.B., PH.D.; MICHAEL L. GORIS, M.D., PH.D.; JOSEPH P. KRISS, M.D.Affiliations: Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford, CA 94305 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byPulmonary Artery Stenosis Resulting in Ventilation-Perfusion Mismatch in a Young FemaleOn Purple Emperors, Pulmonary Embolism, and Venous ThrombosisROGER H. SECKER-WALKER, M.B.Utility of Radionuclide Studies in Patients with Pulmonary Vascular and Airways DiseasesVentilation-perfusion studies for pulmonary embolism: A rebuttal to Dr. Eugene Robin 1 May 1978Volume 88, Issue 5Page: 711-715KeywordsAngiographyFearHypoxiaPulmonary embolism ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 May 1978 PDF downloadLoading ...