Pulmonary Embolism: Prognostic CT Findings

Purpose: To retrospectively determine whether three computed tomographic (CT) findings—ventricular septal bowing (VSB), ratio between the diameters of right ventricle (RV) and left ventricle (LV), and embolic burden—are associated with short-term death, defined as in-hospital death or death within 30 days of CT, whichever was longer, due to acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Materials and Methods: Institutional Review Board approval was obtained, and patient information was reviewed in compliance with HIPAA regulations. A total of 1193 patients with CT scans positive for PE from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2002, who had given authorization for retrospective research were included. Scans were independently reviewed by two observers. CT findings were compared with risk of death by using univariate analysis (χ2 statistic) and multivariate logistic regression. Interobserver variability (κ statistic or intraclass correlation coefficient), sensitivity, and specificity of CT findings for predicting death were c...