What is the difference between a VQ scan and CTPA?
VQ scans are often preferred during pregnancy because they give a lower radiation dose to your breast tissue (which is more sensitive than usual to radiation during pregnancy). However, a CTPA scan will give a smaller radiation dose to your baby, and it can be more accurate in detecting blood clots in your lung.
When do you use VPA scan vs CTPA?
CTPA may have the advantage of widespread availability where VQ scanning may not be available outside working hours. Radiation dose of VQ is significantly less than CTPA, which makes VQ preferable for young women and for follow up to establish baseline post-treatment.
What does a VQ scan diagnose?
A VQ scan can help to diagnose a blood clot in the lungs. If left untreated, blood clots can be fatal. If you have symptoms of a blood clot, such as shortness of breath and a sharp pain when you breathe in, your doctor might recommend a VQ scan. A blood clot is also known as a pulmonary embolism or PE.
What is another name for VQ scan?
A pulmonary ventilation/perfusion (or VQ) scan is a series of two lung scans. The scans are either performed together or one after the other, but are often referred to as one procedure.
Is VQ scan nephrotoxic?
Some patients who have a VQ scan that is indeterminate, may also need to have a CT scan of their chest to be sure that they do or do not have a clot in their lungs….Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing Contrast Exposure: VQ vs. CT (VQ/CT)
| Estimated Enrollment : | 700 participants |
| Allocation: | Randomized |
Does VQ scan use contrast?
A subset of the patient population who can not tolerate the intravenous contrast, the radiation of the definitive diagnostic test (CT pulmonary angiography), have severe renal insufficiency (stage IV) or had a severe allergic reaction to contrast material then V/Q scan is the test of choice to diagnose PE.
Can a CTPA miss a pulmonary embolism?
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a deadly disease, and in patients with high pretest probability (PTP) of PE, computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) can often miss PE.
Why is it called VQ scan?
The ventilation-perfusion scan is a nuclear scan so named because it studies both airflow (ventilation) and blood flow (perfusion) in the lungs. The initials V-Q are used in mathematical equations that calculate airflow and blood flow.
Why would a doctor order a VQ scan?
This test can help diagnose or rule out a pulmonary embolism, or a blood clot in your lung. A VQ scan also can detect regional differences in lung blood flow and air distribution. Doctors may use VQ scans to examine the lungs before some surgeries. Lung VQ scans are performed in radiology clinics or hospitals.
Who performs a VQ scan?
V/Q scans are usually performed in a radiology clinic or a hospital. You may be getting a ventilation scan or a perfusion scan, or you may get both scans. If you are getting both, one scan will be done right after the other.
How accurate is VQ scan?
The pooled sensitivity, specificity of V/Q SPECT in the diagnosis of acute PE patients, calculated on a per-patient-based analysis, was 96% (95% confidence interval [CI], 95-97%), 97% (95% CI, 96-98%).